Hoopla-licious!
Tourney Nerd Picks Harvard
Natethegreat Hoping To Avoid
Precedent
One In A Quintillion
Those of you who have
visited the great city of Madison, Wisc., know that one of the popular
beverages here is a beer called Hopalicious. Today, Badger Hoopla (Blake Roter), a Madison
resident, was truly hoopla-licious as
his bracket stayed unblemished until Harvard upset New Mexico. Roter, who
currently serves as the law clerk for the chief justice of the Wisconsin
Supreme Court, picked 15 of 16 games correctly on the first day of competition.
That makes him a threat to beat Jon CharakÕs (I have not watched 1 game this year) record of 29 victories through the first 32 games, which he set in
2009. No other player has ever recorded more than 27.
But despite this
impressive performance, Roter only gets to sit in first place by virtue of the
first tie-breaker, pick percentage. GG20 (Garrett Gibbons) also has
18 points. Gibbons is a former standout college basketball player, so he knows
the pressures of March Madness. Gibbons got a big boost from being one of only
four players to pick Harvard to upset New Mexico.
The other three players to
pick Harvard were Henry,
j brizzy,
and PoliticalGrrl. Henry (Henry Sauer) is a rookie from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and
j brizzy (Jeff Brillhart) is in his fourth year of competition. After a solid
first year in which he finished 33rd, Brillhart finished in the 70s the next two
years. However, as the son of Uncle Leo (Lifeguard Leo), you know
he has good genes. This could be his breakout year.
As for the fourth player
to pick Harvard, PoliticalGrrl (Stephanie Hilton), you may remember her from
the Tournament Preview. Yes, she is the big nerd. Well, the nerds
certainly came through for her today. Moreover, Stephanie is the only
player with Harvard in the Sweet 16, so she will need one more big win
from her nerd brethren.
Natethregreat (Nathan Corwin-Shah), one
of our mighty Pee Wees, sits in third place with 17 points. The fifth-grader
from Bloomington, Ill. is already a seasoned veteran despite being only
11-years-old. His rookie year was 2007. But this year heÕs hoping history wonÕt
repeat itself, for heÕs found himself in a similar spot in the past. Last year,
he was winning after Day One, but in a tragic twist of events ended the
tournament in dead last.
NatethegreatÕs mother is
at the complete opposite end of the standings. Pita (Lisa Corwin) is tied with
tmuelli
in 110th place after earning only seven points. Their family split is mirrored
by B Mac (Brian McCall) and quintillion (Lauren McCall), a husband
and wife pair from Madison. B Mac had a perfect bracket going until Cal upset
UNLV. HeÕs currently sitting in 8th place. Quintillion, on the other hand, is
all alone in 112th. B Mac and quintillion are both math teachers and, apparently,
ÒquintillionÓ is a reference to the chances of picking a perfect bracket. Right
now, quintillion may feel like that is also her chances of winning the
tournament. But she should not despair! As one of only two players to pick Wisconsin to win it all, she still has somewhat better than
one in a quintillion chance to win.
Good luck to all in Day
Two! Friday brings a number of intriguing matchups. Check out the Tournament Results report to see who picked which teams. Just click
the pencil icon next to each matchup. This is a very helpful tool to let you
know how much impact each game will have on the standings.
NOTE:
Starting on Day Two youÕll see a Mover/Loser column to
the left of your name in the Current Standings. That reflects how many places
youÕve moved up or down since the day before, not since the last
game.