Day #1 of the NCAA Tournament is now in the books with little in the way of major upsets. Of course, that’s with the exception of a #12 seed, in this case, Murray State, knocking off a #5 seed in Marquette. Like I told you yesterday, #12 seeds win every year, so if you didn’t pick one, you didn’t do it right.
Speaking of not doing things right, while I may have nailed the Murray State game, aside from that, very little went my way as The Commish went a pathetic 11 for 16 yesterday. Things went south for me right out of the gate, as I “took L’s” with #7 Louisville’s loss to #10 Minnesota and then my surprise Sweet 16 pick, #14 Yale, falling just short of pulling off the upset vs # 3 LSU. So, basically, things are going great. Just great.
I know the feeling, Tracy. Believe me, I know
My day could have been worse though, as I at least didn’t lose my Champion on day #1, like Joe Schlosser (4) did. Poor Joe, aka legendary Connecticut radio personality “Sebastian” (he makes me add the “legendary” part btw) who had Marquette winning the whole enchilada. Ouch!
Actually, you played, like, 14 brackets, so you do have options, Joe!
As for the rest of the Great American March Madness folks, taking a peak at the standings finds an 8 way tie for 1st place among folks who went an amazing 15 for 16:
Reminder … the tiebreaker for “Best 1st Round Score” is whoever picked the biggest upset.
Nobody has ever gone 32-0 in the 1st round in GAMM history, and it obviously won’t be happening this year either. It is possible for one of the people listed above to tie the GAMM record for most 1st round points if they run the table today. That would give them 31 points and tie them with both Andy Marquart and Marc Pine, who went an insane 31-1 in 2000. Your beloved Commish, as you’ll recall (since I bring it up … Every. Single. Time.) went 30-2 that year. Just out of the money. Again.
Speaking of money, thanks to all of you who have already Venmo’d their entry fees to me. As we went to press, 360 of our 494 entry fees have already been paid, thanks to Venmo. This has proven to be a huge time-saver from a record keeping standpoint. As for the rest of you, what are you waiting for? Just one click from your phone and *BAM* you’re all paid up!
Yeah, that’s right. Just like that. You got it, man.
Taking a look at the selection breakdown this year, it should come as no surprise that Duke was the most popular pick, as the Blue Devils were selected on 189 of our 494 entries, more than 38% of the brackets submitted. The other #1 seeds (North Carolina, Virginia, and Gonzaga) only combined for 181 selections between the 3 of them.
And, finally, here’s today’s TV Schedule for your perusal:
12:15 p.m. ET Cincinnati (7) vs. Iowa (10) (CBS)
12:40 p.m. ET Ole Miss (8) vs. Oklahoma (9) (truTV)
1:30 p.m. ET Texas Tech (3) vs. Northern Kentucky (14) (TNT)
2:00 p.m. ET Kansas State (4) vs. UC Irvine (13) (TBS)
2:30 p.m. ET Tennessee (2) vs. Colgate (15) (CBS)
3 p.m. ET Virginia (1) vs. Gardner-Webb (16) (truTV)
3:50 p.m. ET Buffalo (6) vs. Arizona St./St. John’s (11) (TNT)
4:20 p.m. ET Wisconsin (5) vs. Oregon (12) (TBS)
6:50 p.m. ET Utah State (8) vs. Washington (9) (TNT)
7:10 p.m. ET Duke (1) vs. N.C. Central/North Dakota State (16) (CBS)
7:20 p.m. ET Houston (3) vs. Georgia State (14) (TBS)
7:27 p.m. ET Mississippi State (5) vs. Liberty (12) (truTV)
9:15 p.m. ET North Carolina (1) vs. Iona (16) (TNT)
9:30 p.m. ET VCU (8) vs. UCF (9) (CBS)
9:45 p.m. ET Iowa State (6) vs. Ohio State (11) (TBS)
9:55 p.m. ET Virginia Tech (4) vs. Saint Louis 13) (truTV)
Later,
The Commish