Final Four Preview

Tournament Scenarios Posted

Four teams and eight scenarios remain (Kentucky over Duke, Kentucky over Michigan State, Wisconsin over Duke, etc.). Out of the eight scenarios, a whopping seven different players could emerge victorious in the 2015 Challenge. Here they are:

The Bryman: The Bryman (Bryan Timm) is in his 10th year of competition and is definitely the Vegas favorite to be crowned this year’s Champion. He is the only player who can win with two different scenarios: Kentucky over Duke or if Duke beats Kentucky. That means if both Kentucky and Duke win tonight, so does the Bryman. Both Kentucky and Duke are favorites tonight.

The Bryman could use a victory to return his name among the elite Chippens competitors. After back to back 6th place finishes in 2010 and 2011, The Bryman strung together three disappointing 80+ finishes, dropping him from the top 10 in All-Time Average Place to his current spot, 34th. The Bryman’s worst possible finish this year is 17th, which guarantees him his 5th top-20 finish in 10 years.

Chitriathlete: Adam Dickens of Elmhurst, Ill. will win this year’s Championship if Wisconsin beats Duke in the final. Now in his 11th year, Dickens has competed in every Chippens tournament in the Modern Era, which started in 2005. However, he’s yet to match his 16th place finish that first year and currently ranks 54th on the All-Time list. The last three years have been particularly unkind, a stretch in which he’s failed to finish better than 85th. Last year was particularly bad: He finished 97th and was thoroughly beaten by his wife, Kate Dickens, who finished 17th in her rookie year. She’s currently in 103rd without much hope for advancement, so it looks like Adam will at least regain household bragging rights.

Hogger: Sam Hogg will win the Championship in his sophomore campaign if Michigan State beats Wisconsin in the final. Hogg has arguably the hardest path to the championship. As mentioned, both Wisconsin and Michigan State are underdogs, and Michigan State would likely be an underdog in another matchup with Wisconsin. Still, never count Hogger out. I warned in last year’s Tournament Preview that he had Championship potential, and he hasn’t waited long to prove me right (thanks Sam). Hogg finished 29th last year.

ILLINIT: Frank (IV) O’Hare wins if Duke beats Wisconsin in the final. Also in his sophomore campaign, Frank finished 80th last year in his first attempt at conquering the Challenge. Currently in 66th place, Frank is in position to play spoiler this year. He’ll have to hope the Badgers do better against Kentucky than the Illini did against their SEC foe, Alabama. (Illinois lost by 21 in the first round of the NIT).

Jeffrey T: Jeffrey T (Jeff Marlin) is in his 7th consecutive year of competition and seems to always be in the championship conversation. Sticking with his tried and true method of success (picking Michigan State deep in the tournament), Marlin will win this year if Kentucky beats MSU in the final. Marlin finished 2nd in 2011 and currently ranked 20th on the All-Time Average Place list.

Mrs. T-1: Cheryl Thompson, in her 4th year of competition, will win it all if Michigan State beats Kentucky in the final. I’ve already written about Mrs. T once this year, stating that this tournament will be sweet or sour depending on how her beloved Michigan State Spartans fare. Well, it has been sweet. Can it still get sweeter? Does beating Duke and unbeaten Kentucky en route to a national championship sound pretty sweet? That’s mainlining high fructose corn syrup while swimming in a pool of high fructose corn syrup sweet. I heard through the grapevine that Mrs. T was very confident in her chances this year, predicting with certainty that she, along with her Spartans, would be Champions in 2015.

Politicalgrrl: It’s axiomatic that you don’t have to be a basketball genius to win the Challenge. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you Exhibit A. Politicalgrrl (Stephanie Hilton) will be this year’s Champ if Wisconsin beats Michigan State. A Wisconsin Law School alum, Hilton barely got her picks in this year because her “work computer blocked her” and then she “had to go to court.” Folks, if the picks deadline is approaching and you still need to make your picks, you tell the judge to wait. Hilton ended up making her picks, just under the deadline, by using her phone. There is precedent for this method: Cotter won in 2013 using his phone, and he was also the last player to make his picks. Is this the new formula for success?

Tournament Scenarios: How will you finish this year? Find out by going to Tournament Scenarios. It will show you your exact place based on each of the remaining eight possible outcomes.