March Madness

So, it's a relatively well-known fact that I am not a huge sports fan. Before my involvement in sports medicine, it could be said I couldn't tell you the different between football and soccer. (This is a large exaggeration -- but you get the point. I never paid attention to it!)

As life has continued on past sports medicine, I still maintained an interest in some sports. Football, basketball (college only) and baseball were of primary interest, as these were the three sports I devoted my time to during my time in sports medicine. I also gained an interest in hockey as the Carolina Hurricanes gained greater popularity. While I have interest in other artistic sports (gymnastics and ice skating), the aforementioned sports are easier to find on the television due to their higher overall popularity.

Currently, we are in the middle of what is known as March Madness. The series is smack in the middle of the games known as the Elite 8. I have never filled out the all-to-famous brackets before. However, it is an annual thing in my fiancé's family to have a competition (round-by-round) to see who can be more successful at filling out their brackets. This year, I was invited into the competition. Unfortunately, I have no background in filling these things out (yes, I knew how to do it but I've never paid attention to March Madness in previous years and had no premise on which to base my selections on other than the team's seed). The exception to this is that I recall quite a final game last season between Duke and Butler. Butler (ranked 8th, 5th seed for the West division), the unknown underdog, made it all the way to the championship game against the Duke (ranked #3, #1 seed in the South division). Even then, they only lost to Duke by 2 points (61-59).

As a result of my lack of knowledge, I have devised my own system of picking teams following the (real) first round of play (not the play-in round). I look at seeding and scores of the previous games to see who should, by seeding, be able to overcome the next round. My one exception has been to continually put Butler through (which has paid off). My other choices, not so much.

Round 1: I picked at chance levels. I picked those that have ties to me or people I know, with the exception of the San Antonio/Alabama State game which I simply picked at random. Two of those paid off: UNC-Asheville and Clemson, though neither passed through the next round.
Round 2: I went 20/36 -- nearly chance levels (55%) but still an improvement over the first round. This one was decided primarily by seed. As a result, there were several upsets (the VCU (11)/Georgetown (6) game and the Louisville (4)/Morehead State (13) game easily come to mind).
Round 3: 11/16 for this round (nearly 69%). Continuing to improve in my picks. My biggest flaws in choices came in the Southwest region, getting only one pick right. I, however, was strongest in the West region getting all four correct.
Round 4 (Sweet 16): I fell off the bandwagon here. I managed to get half of my picks right. VCU didn't disappoint, neither did Bulter. However, Ohio State and Duke both failed me.
Round 5 (Elite 8): We are in the middle of this round. Currently, the Butler Bulldogs have successfully passed the challenge Florida laid out for them, winning 74-71 in overtime. Arizona/Connecticut is currently in progress and if the game finishes the way they are at halftime (Connecticut up), I'll be sitting good for tomorrows two games of Kentucky/UNC (my pick) and Kansas (my pick)/VCU. We'll see how this goes.

For the national championship, if I had to pick now, I might say Connecticut against Butler. I'd like to see Butler back in the championship game and have another shot at it. (Even as North Carolinian, I am not a UNC fan and would like them to get knocked out at some point in the next two rounds.) Depending on the results of the competition, I may or may not let you know how I ended up in the end.