[BingGrad]

Day 1 is in the books, with @bearcatbbal22 taking the early lead. Still six of us hoping to avoid the first round walk of shame...


bearcatbal22 – 17 points, 4 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4?), Kentucky (6?), Northwestern (7,?), Penn State (10,?);

PizzaBox09 – 13 points, 5 teams remaining – Connecticut (4?), Drake (12?), Maryland (8, ?), Michigan State (7?), San Diego State (5, ?);

Alumni96 – 12 points, 5 teams remaining – Duke (5,?), Gonzaga (3?), Iowa State (6?), Kent State (13?), Missouri (7, 7?);

gocats10 – 10 points, 4 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6?), Gonzaga (3?), Penn State (10,?), Providence (11?);

UVM Hoop Cat – 5 points, 5 teams remaining – Baylor (3?), Duke (5,?), Kentucky (6?), Memphis (8?), VCU (12?);

jtmac – 5 points, 4 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,?), Drake (12?), Providence (11?), Vermont (15?);

HOTDAMthe24 – 5 points, 4 teams remaining – Connecticut (4?), Creighton (6?), Drake (12?), Duke (5,?), Texas A&M (0);

VCat_2015 – 5 points, 4 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,?), Indiana (4?), Iona (13?), Kentucky (6?);

BingFan22 – 2 points, 4 teams remaining – Connecticut (4?), Memphis (8?), Michigan State (7?), Texas (2,?), West Virginia (0)

uafan934 – 0 points, 5 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4?), Creighton (6?), Drake (12?), Marquette (2?), Providence (11?)

Mr quint – 0 points, 4 teams remaining – Creighton (6?), Drake (12?), Kent State (13?), Texas A&M (0), VCU (12?);

BingGrad – 0 points, 3 teams remaining – Indiana (4?), Iona (13?), Michigan State (7?), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);

Longclaw – 0 points, 3 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (12?), Iona (13?), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (12?);

umbc32244 – 0 points, 2 teams remaining – Creighton (6?), Indiana (4?), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);

popolamma – 0 points, 2 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (13?), Memphis (8?), West Virginia (0);

 

[popolamma]

Man, I clearly picked the wrong upsets.

 

[BingGrad]

Man, I clearly picked the wrong upsets.

Well, you've still got Memphis to potentially sidestep the Round 1 Walk of Shame...

 

[BingGrad]

Round 1 is in the books, with @bearcatbbal22 , @PizzaBox09 and @gocats10 atop the leader board.

bearcatbal22 – 27 points, 4 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4,?), Kentucky (6,?), Northwestern (7,?), Penn State (10,?);

PizzaBox09 – 24 points, 4 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,?), Drake (0), Maryland (8, ?), Michigan State (7,?), San Diego State (5, ?);

gocats10 – 19 points, 3 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6,?), Gonzaga (3,?), Penn State (10,?), Providence (0);

Alumni96 – 15 points, 3 teams remaining – Duke (5,?), Gonzaga (3,?), Iowa State (0), Kent State (0), Missouri (7, ?);

HOTDAMthe24 – 15 points, 3 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,?), Creighton (6,?), Drake (0), Duke (5,?), Texas A&M (0);

VCat_2015 – 15 points, 3 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,?), Indiana (4,?), Iona (0), Kentucky (6,?);

UVM Hoop Cat – 14 points, 3 teams remaining – Baylor (3,?), Duke (5,?), Kentucky (6,?), Memphis (0), VCU (0);

BingFan22 – 13 points, 3 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,?), Memphis (0), Michigan State (7,?), Texas (2,?), West Virginia (0);

uafan934 – 12 points, 3 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4,?), Creighton (6,?), Drake (0), Marquette (2,?), Providence (0);

BingGrad – 11 points, 2 teams remaining – Indiana (4,?), Iona (0), Michigan State (7,?), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);

umbc32244 – 10 points, 2 teams remaining – Creighton (6,?), Indiana (4,?), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);

Mr quint – 6 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,?), Drake (0), Kent State (0), Texas A&M (0), VCU (0);

jtmac – 5 points, 1 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,?), Drake (0), Providence (0), Vermont (0);

Longclaw – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (0), Iona (0), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (0);

popolamma – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (0), Memphis (0), West Virginia (0);

 

[popolamma]

Well, you've still got Memphis to potentially sidestep the Round 1 Walk of Shame...

about that...

 

[BingGrad]

Day 3 is complete. It's neck and neck between @PizzaBox09 and @bearcatbbal22 , but with a few others still having a shot. (players in italics have been eliminated)

PizzaBox09 – 29 points, 3 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,?), Drake (0), Maryland (8,0), Michigan State (7,?), San Diego State (5,5,?);
bearcatbal22 – 27 points, 2 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4,?), Kentucky (6,?), Northwestern (7,0), Penn State (10,0);
gocats10 – 19 points, 2 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6,?), Gonzaga (3,?), Penn State (10,0), Providence (0);
BingFan22 – 15 points, 3 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,?), Memphis (0), Michigan State (7,?), Texas (2,2,?), West Virginia (0)
HOTDAMthe24 – 15 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,?), Creighton (6,?), Drake (0), Duke (5,0), Texas A&M (0);
VCat_2015 – 15 points, 2 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,0), Indiana (4,?), Iona (0), Kentucky (6,?);
Alumni96 – 15 points, 1 teams remaining – Duke (5,0), Gonzaga (3,?), Iowa State (0), Kent State (0), Missouri (7,0);
UVM Hoop Cat – 14 points, 2 teams remaining – Baylor (3,?), Duke (5,0), Kentucky (6,?), Memphis (0), VCU (0);
uafan934 – 12 points, 3 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4,?), Creighton (6,?), Drake (0), Marquette (2,?), Providence (0)
BingGrad – 11 points, 2 teams remaining – Indiana (4,?), Iona (0), Michigan State (7,?), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);
umbc32244 – 10 points, 2 teams remaining – Creighton (6,?), Indiana (4,?), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);
Mr quint – 6 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,?), Drake (0), Kent State (0), Texas A&M (0), VCU (0);
jtmac – 5 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,0), Drake (0), Providence (0), Vermont (0);
Longclaw – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (0), Iona (0), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (0);
popolamma – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (0), Memphis (0), West Virginia (0);

 

[BingGrad]

With the first weekend complete, we're down to 3 (and possibly only 2) entries having a shot at the win.

@PizzaBox09 has been dominant, riding UConn, Michigan State and SDSU to a comanding lead. @gocats10 has possibilities if Creighton and Gonzaga go far and the Pizza Box squads falter soon. @HOTDAMthe24 may actually have a shot to thread the needle past the leaders if UConn and Creighton make the final game and all of the other PizzaBox and gocats10 squads fall. We currenly have a team of grad students at MIT studying the possibilities. Everyone else has flamed out at this point.

PizzaBox09 – 40 points, 3 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,?), Drake (0), Maryland (8,0), Michigan State (7,7,?), San Diego State (5,5,?);
gocats10 – 28 points, 2 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6,6,?), Gonzaga (3,3,?), Penn State (10,0), Providence (0);
bearcatbal22 – 27 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4,0), Kentucky (6,0), Northwestern (7,0), Penn State (10,0);
BingFan22 – 26 points, 3 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,?), Memphis (0), Michigan State (7,7,?), Texas (2,2,?), West Virginia (0)
HOTDAMthe24 – 25 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,?), Drake (0), Duke (5,0), Texas A&M (0);
uafan934 – 22 points, 2 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,?), Drake (0), Marquette (2,0), Providence (0)
BingGrad – 18 points, 1 teams remaining – Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Michigan State (7,7,?), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);
Alumni96 – 18 points, 1 teams remaining – Duke (5,0), Gonzaga (3,3,?), Iowa State (0), Kent State (0), Missouri (7,0);
umbc32244 – 16 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,?), Indiana (4,0), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);
VCat_2015 – 15 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,0), Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Kentucky (6,0);
UVM Hoop Cat – 14 points, 0 teams remaining – Baylor (3,0), Duke (5,0), Kentucky (6,0), Memphis (0), VCU (0);
Mr quint – 12 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,?), Drake (0), Kent State (0), Texas A&M (0), VCU (0);
jtmac – 5 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,0), Drake (0), Providence (0), Vermont (0);
Longclaw – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (0), Iona (0), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (0);
popolamma – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (0), Memphis (0), West Virginia (0);

 

[HOTDAMthe24]

Great, now I'm spending my whole day figuring out the different scenarios where I can pull off a win just to be let down the next game when one of them loses!!!

I do know that if both of them win their sweet 16 game, the only thing I need to stay alive is Michigan St. to lose to Kansas St.

 

[BingGrad]

Great, now I'm spending my whole day figuring out the different scenarios where I can pull off a win just to be let down the next game when one of them loses!!!

I do know that if both of them win their sweet 16 game, the only thing I need to stay alive is Michigan St. to lose to Kansas St.

This is clear and convincing evidence of my strong delegation skills!

 

[HOTDAMthe24]

Last night made this much easier to figure out my chances. Assuming my calculations are correct...

If Alabama beats San Diego St. I need Creighton to make it to the championship game and UConn to beat Gonzaga.

If San Diego St. beats Alabama, I need Creighton to win the championship game and UConn to beat Gonzaga.

 

[BingGrad]

At the end of Round 3, it looks like @PizzaBox09 , @gocats10 and @HOTDAMthe24 are all still alive -- but with HOTDAMthe24 needing to really thread the needle with a unique combination of game results to take the title (Creighton wins the championship, UConn beats Gonzaga). Otherwise it's PizzaBox09's UConn and SDSU combo against gocats10 with Creighton and Gonzaga.

PizzaBox09 – 49 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,?), Drake (0), Maryland (8,0), Michigan State (7,7,0), San Diego State (5,5,5,?);
gocats10 – 37 points, 2 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6,6,6,?), Gonzaga (3,3,3,?), Penn State (10,0), Providence (0);
HOTDAMthe24 – 35 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,6,?), Drake (0), Duke (5,0), Texas A&M (0);
uafan934 – 32 points, 2 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4,4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,6,?), Drake (0), Marquette (2,0), Providence (0);
BingFan22 – 32 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,?), Memphis (0), Michigan State (7,7,0), Texas (2,2,2,?), West Virginia (0);
bearcatbal22 – 27 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4,0), Kentucky (6,0), Northwestern (7,0), Penn State (10,0);
umbc32244 – 22 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,6,?), Indiana (4,0), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);
Alumni96 – 21 points, 1 teams remaining – Duke (5,0), Gonzaga (3,3,3,?), Iowa State (0), Kent State (0), Missouri (7,0);
Mr quint – 18 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,6,?), Drake (0), Kent State (0), Texas A&M (0), VCU (0);
BingGrad – 18 points, 0 teams remaining – Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Michigan State (7,7,0), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);
VCat_2015 – 15 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,0), Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Kentucky (6,0);
UVM Hoop Cat – 14 points, 0 teams remaining – Baylor (3,0), Duke (5,0), Kentucky (6,0), Memphis (0), VCU (0);
jtmac – 5 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,0), Drake (0), Providence (0), Vermont (0);
Longclaw – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (0), Iona (0), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (0);
popolamma – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (0), Memphis (0), West Virginia (0);

 

[BingGrad]

The possibilities are straightforward now -- A Creighton national championship makes @HOTDAMthe24 our 2023 champion. Any other scenario and @PizzaBox09 becomes the first ever repeat champion.


PizzaBox09 – 53 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Drake (0), Maryland (8,0), Michigan State (7,7,0), San Diego State (5,5,5,?);
HOTDAMthe24 – 39 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,6,?), Drake (0), Duke (5,0), Texas A&M (0);
gocats10 – 37 points, 1 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6,6,6,?), Gonzaga (3,3,3,0), Penn State (10,0), Providence (0);
uafan934 – 36 points, 2 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,6,?), Drake (0), Marquette (2,0), Providence (0);
BingFan22 – 36 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Memphis (0), Michigan State (7,7,0), Texas (2,2,2,?), West Virginia (0);
bearcatbal22 – 27 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4,0), Kentucky (6,0), Northwestern (7,0), Penn State (10,0);
umbc32244 – 22 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,6,?), Indiana (4,0), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);
Alumni96 – 21 points, 0 teams remaining – Duke (5,0), Gonzaga (3,3,3,0), Iowa State (0), Kent State (0), Missouri (7,0);
Mr quint – 18 points, 1 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,6,?), Drake (0), Kent State (0), Texas A&M (0), VCU (0);
BingGrad – 18 points, 0 teams remaining – Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Michigan State (7,7,0), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);
VCat_2015 – 15 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,0), Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Kentucky (6,0);
UVM Hoop Cat – 14 points, 0 teams remaining – Baylor (3,0), Duke (5,0), Kentucky (6,0), Memphis (0), VCU (0);
jtmac – 5 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,0), Drake (0), Providence (0), Vermont (0);
Longclaw – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (0), Iona (0), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (0);
popolamma – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (0), Memphis (0), West Virginia (0);

 

[HOTDAMthe24]

Congrats PizzaBox09!!!

 

[BingGrad]

It's a @PizzaBox09 world, and we're all just fortunate he allows us to live in it. Ten years putting two of his five selections in the Final Four (Syracuse and Wichita State), he strikes gold again with UConn and San Diego State and leaves the rest of us to only look up and wave...

Crazy tournament this year - hope everyone enjoyed. See you again in 2024.

PizzaBox09 – 58 points, 2 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Drake (0), Maryland (8,0), Michigan State (7,7,0), San Diego State (5,5,5,5,?);
HOTDAMthe24 – 39 points, 1 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,6,0), Drake (0), Duke (5,0), Texas A&M (0);
gocats10 – 37 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Creighton (6,6,6,0), Gonzaga (3,3,3,0), Penn State (10,0), Providence (0);
uafan934 – 36 points, 1 teams remaining -- Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Creighton (6,6,6,0), Drake (0), Marquette (2,0), Providence (0);
BingFan22 – 36 points, 1 teams remaining – Connecticut (4,4,4,4,?), Memphis (0), Michigan State (7,7,0), Texas (2,2,2,0), West Virginia (0);
bearcatbal22 – 27 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Indiana (4,0), Kentucky (6,0), Northwestern (7,0), Penn State (10,0);
umbc32244 – 22 points, 0 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,6,0), Indiana (4,0), Oral Roberts (0), Texas A&M (0), Virginia (0);
Alumni96 – 21 points, 0 teams remaining – Duke (5,0), Gonzaga (3,3,3,0), Iowa State (0), Kent State (0), Missouri (7,0);
Mr quint – 18 points, 0 teams remaining – Creighton (6,6,6,0), Drake (0), Kent State (0), Texas A&M (0), VCU (0);
BingGrad – 18 points, 0 teams remaining – Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Michigan State (7,7,0), Oral Roberts (0), Utah State (0);
VCat_2015 – 15 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise State (0), Duke (5,0), Indiana (4,0), Iona (0), Kentucky (6,0);
UVM Hoop Cat – 14 points, 0 teams remaining – Baylor (3,0), Duke (5,0), Kentucky (6,0), Memphis (0), VCU (0);
jtmac – 5 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Duke (5,0), Drake (0), Providence (0), Vermont (0);
Longclaw – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Charleston (0), Drake (0), Iona (0), Oral Roberts (0), VCU (0);
popolamma – 0 points, 0 teams remaining – Boise St (0), Charleston (0), Iona (0), Memphis (0), West Virginia (0);

 

[iBOsbu]

The Pick 5 Hall of Champions

2022 @VT Cats Fan -- 70 Points
2021 @iBOsbu -- 76 Points
2019 @GroovyUV(m) -- 46 Points
2013 @PizzaBox09 -- 87 Points
2012 @deviljets7 -- 53 Points

I hope you'll join in. No actual prize, other than getting your name listed in the Hall of Champions in future years!

Good luck!

Thanks for running this every year! Definitely will participate next year if I catch it on time.
And congrats PizzaBox09!! Second title 👏

 

[PizzaBox09]

Thank you for running this pool, I usually do good in contests with no cash prize, lol.

In the words of Lefty Gomez "I'd rather be lucky than good!"

And in the words of Jackie Moon "There's nothing in the rules that says I can't play drunk"

Have a good summer!