March Madness 2014 with The Elite [Congrats to UConn and Lockwood]

[Ngamer]

The bracket's been set and the pool is ready for our uhhhhhh 14th (whoa) year of picking the NCAA basketball tourney results!  The pool will be hosted on ESPN as always; here's the link

http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2014/en/game

After you sign in there should be a link to "rejoin groups" if you played with us last year, but if not no worries.  Just do a search for

The Final Four Elite

It's a private group, password is elite.

That's a fun competition for everyone even if you're only a more casual fan.  For the "hardcore," we'll also be hosting a

March Madness Team Draft

On Wednesday night, that's where you get $100 and try to win as many good teams as possible in an auction.  If you'd be interested in joining this year, post something here or drop by Chat.

IN
Ngamer
Thingy
Moto

OUT



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Our Proud 14 Year History
2013 - http://forums.the-elite.net/forum/index.php?topic=18817
 Champ: Louisville, Elite Champ: Max Jansen
2012 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=16956
 Champ: Kentucky, Elite Champ: Goose
2011 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=15723
 Champ: UConn, Elite Champ: Cyber
2010 -  http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=15214
  Champ: Duke, Elite Champ: sdkess
2009 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=14454
  Champ: UNC, Elite Champ: wheat
2008 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=13536
  Champ: Kansas, Elite Champ: Goose
2007 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=1524
  Champ: Florida, Elite Champ: mostfrantic
2006 - http://forums.the-elite.net/forum/index.php?topic=1777
  Champ: Florida, Elite Champ: Woll
2005 - Eaten maybe
  Champ: North Carolina, Elite Champ: ???
2004 - Eaten maybe
  Champ: UConn, Elite Champ: ???
2003 - http://forums.the-elite.net/forum/index.php?topic=10917
  Champ: Syracuse, Elite Champ: Tisko
2002 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=10816
  Champ: Maryland, Elite Champ: mikers
2001 - http://elite.speedrunwiki.com/forum/index.php?topic=9174
  Champ: Champ: Duke, Elite Champ: Max Jansen

[TheFlash]

Got my team randomizer sheet ready, let's do this auction!

What time is the auction.

[wishiwasfamous]

Is it ok to invite buddies to the general bracket pool? I got a friend that wants to play but none of his friends are participating this year. Thought I'd let him join our group!

[MotoXRider31]

I'm in for the auction. What time?

[TheFlash]

Is it ok to invite buddies to the general bracket pool? I got a friend that wants to play but none of his friends are participating this year. Thought I'd let him join our group!

That should be fine.

[TheFlash]

I'm in for the auction. What time?

These things typically happen at like 10pm central, give or take an hour either way.  If we have euros who want to participate, it could happen a few hours earlier.  If some people need it to be later, it could even start after midnight central. It depends who all shows up.  You should share the earliest and latest you would be able to participate.  I think the auction draft takes like 90 minutes or so if we have everything set up to move quickly.

[RWG]

In it to become the first ever elite THREE TIME Champion and make everyone in the Ngamer crew super mad.

[Ngamer]

AUCTION TONIGHT, 9pm CENTRAL

Set your digital wristwatches!

EDIT - Draft COMPLETE, results available in spreadsheet form.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiClwvYRZkRVdGFaUTh6aGxDdVhEN1RyTlhPbW5VVFE&usp=sharing

[Wody]

Why cant I join for the bracket entry??

When I search the group The Final Four Elite it says no results found on that site you linked. Im logged into my account and everything.

[Ngamer]

What error are you running into?  Others who weren't in last year have been able to join so the info from above should be working (The Final Four Elite for name, elite for password).

Maybe try again in a different browser like Chrome and it will go through.

[Wody]

lol nvm

[Thiradell]

Watched about five minutes of college basketball this season, hoping for 1st place

[Ngamer]

The tourney is now underway and all brackets are LOCKED, we've got a very healthy pool of 31 players this year!  Let's check who the popular Championship picks are; I'll group everyone together so you can see who your main competition is.

Kansas (7)
Come
Trent
Woll
Moto
wiff
Brett E
Jenny

Arizona (6)
Ngamer
QB
drag
sdkess
Alec
Matt K

Florida (5)
Nate
wheat
pack
Lockwood
Max

Wichita State (3)
Goose
Thingy
Third

Wisconsin (3)
Matt8k
Jake
Angie

Michigan St (2)
Rick
Brandon

Louisville (just 1!)
Cyber

San Diego St (1)
mostfrantic

Virginia (1)
Tisko

Duke (1)
Bcks

Michigan (1)
Mike


Pretty weird choices on our part... we made #2 Kansas the favorite when most expect them to struggle mightily against Syracuse and get crushed by #1 Florida.  Nationwide FL's an overwhelming favorite, but we have them slightly below #1 Arizona, a team most people are expecting to get knocked out by whoever survives the brutal Midwest bracket.

Speaking of which... gamblers have made #4 Louisville a pretty sizable favorite to be the Midwest winner and even reach the title game, but somehow only Cyber believes in them out of our whole group!  We're also pretty low on the other #4 everyone's been jumping on across the country, Michigan State, with only 2 winning picks.

Knee-jerk reaction - I'm naming Cyber the favorite to win it all this season.  He lucked out by somehow being the only one to select the second most popular Championship result (Louisville > FL) and of his Elite Eight there's only one pick I don't like (Baylor- the others are Kansas/MI St/Iowa St/Arizona/Michigan).

[wheatrich]

it can't ever be wrong to take a team that will have two top five picks in the nba draft.

[Wody]

I have 2 siblings who both graduated from the University of Florida soooooooooo

[wheatrich]

damn, would've been such a great day had Lville lost.  Still a solid first day.

[bcks]

well, fuck :'(

[Wody]

#DesmondHaymon THE ICE MAN

[wheatrich]

VCU ****** themselves, a 16 was ahead of a 1 at the half, the elite's pick to win it all in an absolute ridiculous fuck fest with a 15 seed late in the game, only one off the record for # of OT games in an entire tournament.  looooooool Duke again and every 12 vs a 5 delivered (OT OT OT nerds)

pretty good start, and with only uva being a top seed not having to play a top 20 team before the round of 16 should be a weekend of fun.

[Thiradell]

Pretty good flop by the SFA guy

[wheatrich]

Pretty good flop by the SFA guy

yeah it's not a foul but that's nothing in basketball; they were up 4 with < 5 sec left and he jumped "into" the shooter, that's going to get called.

there is one perfect bracket left btw, but he has mercer winning another game (he won't make it to there anyway but that's tough, Mercer has to beat a better team than Duke)
well that and he didn't sign up for the perfect bracket thing despite the fact it's a yahoo bracket and the link is via that perfect bracket sponsor but honestly that seems like a reasonably easy lawsuit to win.

[Thiradell]

Cyber actually showed up in chat to let us know that he knows the guy with the perfect bracket! A friend of a brother of a fiancee, or something like that.

[wheatrich]

it can't ever be wrong to take a team that will have two top five picks in the nba draft.

unless 1 isn't playing  lol jabari lol wiggins

[packattack]

Kansas looks the same every year.  Sloppy and unable to hit shots.  Duke and Nova suck because they only shoot 3's and always go cold in the tournament. 

[wheatrich]

duke hit 40% from 3 against mercer  and nova shot the same % from 2 as they did from 3, that wasn't the issue

[wheatrich]

welp more brackets including mine torched

shame the narrative in a few days will be wichita state didn't deserve a 1 seed

that will be the best game of the tourn, kinda sucks to be a 1 seed crush the other team offensively and shoot 50% from the floor and still lose b/c the other team was nbajam on fire.

[Thiradell]

My thoughts exactly. My older brother already tweeted some nonsense saying that was about what he expected. They made the final four last year ffs

[wheatrich]

REFS

been totally ridic in so many games

wis in the final four?  finally ngamer has a good.... oh

since basically everyone's runner up is gone; looks like about 6 are still alive

[packattack]

So glad to see Bo Ryan and the Badgers make the F4, even if it did completely knock me out of contention in our bracket group.  I've been impressed with the team all year and wasn't sure if they could finally make the run to get there.  Without Kaminsky playing out of his mind, they wouldn't have had a chance.  I hope this run can continue.  Possibly 3 B1G teams in the final 4 is also interesting.  Would be the 1st time since '85 that this happened (3 teams from the same conference)

[Jimbo]

I was legit excited for that entire game, Kaminsky was playing lights out and it was great to watch. Curious to see how a WI vs Michigan game ends up being matchup-wise this time around if it actually happens!

[wheatrich]

final four is set and almost so is the elite pool

Cyarc wins if Wisconsin wins OR if Wisco > Kentucky AND Uconn > Florida
else Ryan Lockwood is the winner

can Kentucky's run like god streak continue?

[Wody]

I knew Kentucky was a good team when they almost beat Florida. So you can see why I selected what I did in my bracket. I was also proud of my upset I purposely picked of SFA vs VCU in the first round.

[wheatrich]

I only filled out 2 brackets, the second one was Florida beating Kentucky in the final so no need to defend yourself on the Kentucky pick.  I can switch that one in the group now right?

[wheatrich]

congrats to Ryan Lockwood

and the 7 vs 8 seed final which is the worst combined # ever.

[Aztec Exemplar]

gratsbaby

[wheatrich]

got to say major thumbs up to Charles Barkley calling all the people who were complaining that they were watching a biased broadcast (despite the nickname being on the bottom and it constantly saying team broadcast of a team at the top and the incredible lol biased coverage (hint, maybe there's at least another channel of the game on...))--idiots.  One of many reasons he's the best.

[Ngamer]

It's all over!  Final scoreboard for 2014 is as follows:



Congrats to Lockwood for the big win!  Unfortunately it was very much a down year for our preds as a whole, with even the Champ only managing the 95th percentile due to how this was (I believe) the first time in 15 years that no one correctly picked either of the final two teams.  Granted this was probably the most unlikely Championship matchup ever but even so, whoops!

[Wody]

Thank you Ngamer