ESPN March Madness Bracket Challenge - Atlas Group

[OSR stands with Israel]

http://games.espn.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2017/en/group?groupID=1873474


Password: Madness 17

[7,052,770]

Do we have a women's bracket pool too?

[The Other Castro]

Do we have a women's bracket pool too?

Spoiler alert: UConn wins.

[FairBol]

Do we have a women's bracket pool too?

Spoiler alert: UConn wins.

QFT. 

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Zags all the way

[Associate Justice PiT]

Zags all the way

     I like your style.

[JGibson]

Joined.

[Crumpets]

Apparently you can't join groups after midnight last night, but here are my picks - based entirely on win probabilities and online random number generators:

Round of 64 winners:
Villanova
Virginia Tech
UVA
Florida
SMU
Baylor
South Carolina
Duke
Gonzaga
Northwestern
Bucknell
Maryland
FSU
Saint Mary's
Arizona
Kansas
Michigan State
Iowa State
Purdue
URI
Iona
Oklahoma State
Louisville
UNC
Seton Hall
Mid Tennessee
Butler
Cincinnati
UCLA
Wichita State
Kentucky

Round of 32 winners:
Villanova
UVA
SMU
Duke
Gonzaga
Notre Dame
FSU
Arizona
Kansas
Purdue
URI
Louisville
UNC
Butler
Cincinnati
Kentucky

Sweet 16 winners:
Villanova
Duke
Gonzaga
Arizona
Kansas
Louisville
UNC
Kentucky

Elite Eight winners:
Duke
Gonzaga
Kansas
UNC

Final Four winners:
Gonzaga
Kansas

National champion:
Gonzaga

(Final score 73-68)

[The Other Castro]

Damn, my Princeton>Notre Dame upset was so close to happening.

[The Other Castro]

heatcharger is now the only one left with a perfect bracket so far (thanks to a dumb foul from Vanderbilt).

[Associate Justice PiT]

heatcharger is now the only one left with a perfect bracket so far (thanks to a dumb foul from Vanderbilt).

     Bucknell also screwed me over. I had pegged West Virginia to choke again this year.

[Green Line]

This is the first year in a long time I didnt do a bracket.  I didnt pay close enough attention to the season this year to make intelligent picks.  Sad!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

heatcharger is now the only one left with a perfect bracket so far (thanks to a dumb foul from Vanderbilt).

I had a 14/16 day that would have been 15/16 if my team didn't lose in the absolute most heart-wrenching way possible.  I almost wish we had never made our comeback, because then I could accept that we weren't the better team.  As it is, I feel like we were the better team and lost because of a brain fart.  MFD brought us back from our 15 point deficit, though, so it's hard to be too upset with him.  It was a good season, but it ended about as terribly as a season can.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I had a disastrous 11/16 day

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

heatcharger is now the only one left with a perfect bracket so far (thanks to a dumb foul from Vanderbilt).

I had a 14/16 day that would have been 15/16 if my team didn't lose in the absolute most heart-wrenching way possible.  I almost wish we had never made our comeback, because then I could accept that we weren't the better team.  As it is, I feel like we were the better team and lost because of a brain fart.  MFD brought us back from our 15 point deficit, though, so it's hard to be too upset with him.  It was a good season, but it ended about as terribly as a season can.

As it is though, Northwestern will be slaughtered by Gonzaga next round, so no harm done. And, tbh, with all due respect, I also really doubt Vanderbilt could have beaten Gonzaga.

[LLR]

I got 14/16, screwed up Vanderbilt and St. Mary's. Nothing bracket-busting, obviously

[muon2]

I don't do a bracket, but I do watch the statistics of upsets. Statistically the lower seed should win about 22% of the time which means 7 upsets in the first round, though 6 or 8 is well within the margin of error. Obviously the closer the seeds are the greater the chance of the upset. So far it's running below expectations with only 2 upsets in the first 32 games.

[Donerail]

15/16, one bad foul away from perfection.

[heatcharger]

heatcharger is now the only one left with a perfect bracket so far (thanks to a dumb foul from Vanderbilt).

Failing VCU was a total letdown and ruined my perfect bracket. Could you imagine the outrage if UVA choked again? No more state funding!

Anyways, my bracket looks pretty good. I'm just hoping to keep all my Sweet 16 teams in by the end of today.

Also, I don't feel that bad for the kid who fouled on Vanderbilt. He's probably been in thousands of basketball games in his life and probably in the exact same scenario. He should've known better.

[muon2]

6 upsets in the first round. On the low end of the expected range of 6 to 8. Interestingly no upsets above a 5 seed.

[OSR stands with Israel]

I have moved into a tie for third place

[LLR]

I have moved into a tie for third place

Me too. I still have my Sweet 16 intact as well (though I probably shouldn't have picked Xavier to beat FSU)

[Donerail]

Currently in first, but can't imagine I'll stay there for long. Losing SMU really hurt—had them in my elite eight, as I couldn't in good conscience advance Baylor or dook.

[heatcharger]

I don't want to jinx it, but if Wisconsin can pull through, I will have a huge advantage over the rest of you guys. I picked them not only because they were criminally underseeded, but they have guys who played on the Final Four team that beat Kentucky, and they play with the discipline that comes with experience.

[anthonyjg]

I don't want to jinx it, but if Wisconsin can pull through, I will have a huge advantage over the rest of you guys. I picked them not only because they were criminally underseeded, but they have guys who played on the Final Four team that beat Kentucky, and they play with the discipline that comes with experience.

Yeah, I picked Wisconsin for the same reasons, I probably should've had them going further though. I'm also kicking myself for not doing the same with Michigan St.