In an a bit of a stunner, #14 Oakland knocked off #3 Kentucky 80-76 last night, as the Wildcats continued their seemingly annual tradition of early NCAA exits. Oakland was paced by viral breakout star Jack Gohlke’s 32 points, including an incredible *10* 3-pointers.
Hardest hurt by Kentucky’s loss no doubt were the 36 GAMM participants who picked them to win it all on their brackets. To a lesser extent, it also hurt for your beloved Commish, who had them going to the Elite Eight.
Oakland’s win sets up a match-up vs #11 NC State, as the Wolfpack, building off their surprising ACC Tournament Championship last week, continued their hot hand by knocking off #6 Texas Tech 80-67.
Despite a decent number of upsets, a peak at the standings shows 7 participants going an impressive 15 for 16 yesterday, including my first ever boss at Great American, Ron Gifford, and Assistant Commish Lauren Dennehy‘s boyfriend, Zach Giesting. However, lurking just behind them in a multi-way tie for 8th place with 14 points is none other than Mrs. Commish:
As nobody had a perfect bracket yesterday, Andy Marquart and Marc Pine’s record for most 1st round points in GAMM history of 31, set in G.A.M.M. VIII, cannot be broken. However, if any of the 7 individuals tied for 1st can run the table today, they would be able to tie them though. As I mentioned yesterday, this year I bumped the prize for most 1st round points to $100. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be whoever called the biggest upset.
As many of you already know, in these past 31 years I’ve been running this pool, my career winnings have amounted to a a stunning $0.00. As always, I’m forced to point out that I am also the *ONLY* member of my family to have never won any money in this thing. That’s right, they’ve all won money at some point:
- Mrs. Commish – Won “Best 1st Round” in G.A.M.M. X. (& tied for Best 1st Rd. in G.A.M.M. XIII)
- Lauren – Won G.A.M.M. XVIII in 2010 when Duke beat Butler.
- Jack – Finished in 2nd place in G.A.M.M. XXIII when Duke beat Wisconsin.
- Matthew – Won “Best 1st Round” 2 years ago in G.A.M.M. XXIX.
So, that’s really great. Not like it gets frequently mentioned by them at this time of year or anything.
For the record, I’ve had my fair share of near misses though. Take G.A.M.M. IX in 2001, for example. If Arizona had managed to topple Duke in the Championship game, I would’ve finished in 1st place. Then, in G.A.M.M. XI, Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse squad pulled off the upset against Kansas, costing me a 3rd place finish. Oh, and you know how I mentioned that Andy Marquart and Marc Pine set the record for most 1st round points with 31 in G.A,M,M, VIII? Care to guess who had 30 that same year? Yep, your beloved Commish.
Yep, I’ve been a resident of the March Madness pit of despair for a long, long time, so if you’re one of the folks who had Kentucky winning it all, don’t come whining to me about it.
I know, I know. I can hear it now … “Hey, dumba**! Maybe if you didn’t make idiotic selections like Creighton over Auburn in the finals, you’d have won something by now!”
Yeah, can’t really argue with that.
Turning our attention to GAMM finances, thanks to all those who’ve already paid their entry fees. As of this morning, 571 of the 660 entries have been paid. The deadline for getting yours in is April 1st. Here’s a link once again to my Venmo for those of you who’ve yet to pay:
https://account.venmo.com/u/Greg-Dennehy
Reminders when making payment:
(1) If you’re having someone pay on your behalf, please have them mention it in the comment field so I don’t drive myself nuts trying to figure out why I don’t have a bracket for them.
(2) Do NOT click “Turn on for purchases“ as that causes Venmo to take a % of your payment and creates unnecessary work and aggravation for the ol’ Commish as I then have to try and collect the remaining $0.12 that Venmo shaved off your entry fee.
Also, a very special thanks to everyone who contributed to The Commish’s Beer Fund by throwing in a little something extra with their Venmo payment.
Actual pic of The Commish’s Beer Money jar
Gratuities are never expected, but always very much appreciated, so I’d like to give a shout-out to the following participants for showing The Commish a little Venmo love as well as introducing our new Medallion Level Program:
PLATINUM LEVEL:
- The Cole Family
- Emily Chapple
- Brian Suth
- Mike Althouse
GOLD LEVEL:
- Donna Szydlo
- Erik Nelson
- Katie Barnes
- The Herrmann Family
- The Murphy Family
- The Register Family
SILVER LEVEL:
- Brittany Hanlon
- Chris Gilmore
- Dave Peterson
- Dominique Schwietert
- The Dorer Family
- Evan Althouse
- Gary Smith
- Josh Smith
- Kevin Garvin
- Marty Chamberlin
- Mary Hagar
- Michael Pilkington
- Mike Mather
- PJ Painter
- Sheryl Hemphill
- Tom Barry
- Brenda Williams
- Bob Johnson
- Robert Mulcahy
- Allison Holmstrand
- Dan McCormack
- Dave Dawson
- Jim Manning
- Aidan Friday
- Joseph Walsh
- Pam Albers
And finally, I wanted to give special recognition to Lucas Sagraves, our only “Cardboard Level” member:
CARDBOARD LEVEL:
- Lucas Sagraves
Lucas has continued his annual custom of tipping me 1 cent for each year I’ve run the pool, so thanks for the $0.31, Lucas!
(Sorry if I missed anyone! Trying to keep up with the record keeping after spending all day in the GAMM Mobile Command Center was a bit taxing on the ol’ Commish)
Okay, guys, here’s today’s TV schedule, so plan your couch time accordingly:
FRIDAY TV SCHEDULE:
- 12:15 p.m. – (9) Northwestern vs. (8) FAU – CBS
- 12:40 p.m. – (14) Colgate vs. (3) Baylor – truTV
- 1:30 p.m. – (12) UAB vs. (5) San Diego State” – TNT
- 2:00 p.m. – (15) Western Kentucky vs. (2) Marquette – TBS
- 2:45 p.m. – (16) Stetson vs. (1) Uconn – CBS
- 3:10 p.m. – (11) New Mexico vs. (6) Clemson – truTV
- 4:00 p.m. – (13) Yale vs. (4) Auburn – TNT
- 4:30 p.m. – (10) Colorado/Boise State vs. (7) Florida – TBS
- 6:50 p.m. – (9) Texas A&M vs. (8) Nebraska – TNT
- 7:10 p.m. – (13) Vermont vs. (4) Duke – CBS
- 7:25 p.m. – (16) Grambling/Montana State vs. (1) Purdue – TBS
- 7:35 p.m. – (13) College of Charleston vs. (4) Alabama” – truTV
- 9:20 p.m. – (16) Longwood vs. (1) Houston – TNT
- 9:40 p.m. – (12) James Madison vs. (5) Wisconsin – CBS
- 9:55 p.m. – (9) TCU vs. (8) Utah State – TBS
- 10:05 p.m. – (12) Grand Canyon vs. (5) Saint Mary’s – truTV
And on that note …
