Friends in Madness,
When Commish saw that y'all had given 15 of the 16 remaining teams at least six picks in Survivor, he had to take a minute.
Sometimes your beautiful acts of Moxie, boldness, and grit make me emotional.
Take (3) Illinois vs. (2) Iowa State tonight. Both teams are in form. Vegas says it's a toss-up. And yet, 100+ Survivors picked one side of that game, with roughly 35% on Illinois and 65% on Iowa State.
This is what happens when you have the chalkiest Sweet 16 in recent memory. Complete Survivor chaos.
Commish loves nothing more.
FUN PICK STATS
These are highlights - cool/fun/interesting things I see in our pick data.
Every game from now on has the potential to massively swing our Bracket pool leaderboards.
With so much chalk, we have a LOT of good looking brackets.
Of course, the most titanic possible result is a UConn loss, given 37% of BIG Bracket (plus 30% of Bracket 2, 30% of Upset Bracket, and 40% of 100 Tier) picked the Huskies to repeat as champs.
But UConn aside, it's likely our Bracket champs will win by virtue of getting that ONE extra Elite 8 team correct, or that ONE extra Final Four team correct.
And it's very likely - almost guaranteed - we're gonna smash our BIG Bracket winning scores from the past two years (86 and 89 points, respectively).
Houston - not UConn - is still the least picked 1-seed in Survivor.
Both were picked by around 10% of our survivors in the Sweet 16. And both are still available to 60%+ of current survivors, with Houston having slightly more availability.
Commish posits the reason for this is NOT more people wanting to save Houston, but rather not enough people being confident that Houston will beat a Duke team that's looked strong.
Still, it is appealing to hold on to Houston and hope that a Cougars win plus a NC State upset means you can pick Houston against an 11-seed in the Elite 8.
In case you missed it, here are the Bracket Potential Score standings.
Potential Score = Highest score someone's Bracket could earn, if everything breaks their way from here.
We'll get this on the website eventually; for now, it's in Google Sheet form.
View Bracket Potential Score standings >>
Here are the leaders in each Bracket:
BIG BRACKET:
1/ @jakespiro11 (128-point potential)
2/ @Natehohm13 (126)
T3/ @collinevans (125)
8 others tied at 125
BRACKET #2:
1/ @Cardarelli103 (127-point potential)
2/ @ChipotleJEFF (126)
3/ @Tmarcos24 (125)
T4/ @Lambda_derg (124)
2 others tied at 124
100 TIER:
1/ @Mcmanus2410 (122-point potential)
2/ @dtleo (121)
3/ @jameschodgins (120)
5 tied at 119
UPSET BRACKET
This is... a lot more complicated to calculate. We're working on it!
YOUR BEST COMMENTS
@Lambda_derg (Pick'em): "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. So at the last second before the pick deadline last week, I scrambled my BIG MM Bracket to 'make things interesting' from my regular bracket that is winning my work league and in 7th in MM Bracket #2. The new and improved bracket is in 2232nd place. The SZN gods are trying to teach me a lesson about having conviction in my beliefs. Better late than never. I should also mention that I always rocket to the top in my work league and then get crushed in the later rounds, so onward fellow SZN mates you will likely pass me in Bracket #2."
Commish says: You're not fooling anyone, Lambda. I see that you've got SEVEN Elite 8 picks still alive in your BIG Bracket. This is a thinly veiled appeal to the SZN Gods to have mercy upon your Moxilicious (and procrastinating?) soul. And, I mean... WELL PLAYED, SIR.
@RobDolph (Survivor - Arizona, UConn): "ACC's weakest remaining link going down"
Commish says: The fact this isn't a Duke comment makes me feel the world is off its axis. IS EVERYONE OK OUT THERE?
@hikee44 (Survivor - Creighton, Gonzaga): "Painting myself into a corner here, but saving the Illini will get me some bonus points in the E8 or FF (that's right, I said it). Looking forward to some fun games!"
Commish says: But... but... you could have painted yourself into a corner by choosing Painter (Purdue). Still, bonus points for the bold Illinois prediction!
@Kellit (Survivor - Creighton, Purdue): "Born in Omaha so…"
Commish says: CREIGHTON BY A BILLION
@sabal23 (Survivor - Marquette, Arizona): "Scared money don't make money!"
Commish says: Since you took the two biggest non-1-seed favorites, does this imply... that you're... scared? BE HERE ALL WEEK, SABAL.
@YikesVikes (Survivor - Creighton, Arizona): "Clemson may have a shot at the upset, but 6-10 center P.J. Hall gets into foul trouble defending Arizona's bigs boys. The Tigers can't compete without their best player on the floor. Clemson will keep it close but the Wildcats pull it out in the final few minutes. Tenn-Creighton is the three point shot shootout. Both teams love them and defend the perimeter well. Tennessee is probably the better team but Creighton will have more prayers on its side and, as in the past, find a way to pull off a tight game and advance. And I stay alive!"
Commish says: Yikes, do you work for a scouting service? Can we get you employed by a scouting service? WHO KNOWS SOME SCOUTS?!
@Mcheavens13 (Survivor - Creighton, UNC): "Shocked I've made it to this point. "
Commish says: This is what I say after finishing my 5th BLL and wondering if it actually contains alcohol.
@BigRed7272 (Survivor - UNC, UConn): "I'm still here?"
Commish says: This is what Roger Goodell says every time he walks into NFL HQ and still has an office despite Commish existing.
@Jmkahn (Pick'em): "Inspector Javert staring out the window, on Wednesday, looking out at tomorrow's opening day and sweet 16."
Commish says: Wait, wait, wait... a Les Mis reference? HOW DID THAT GET IN HERE.
@Rx (Pick'em): "Chalk..."
Commish says: Sure but how do you FEEL about that chalk taste?
@Autovhanchilly (Survivor - Creighton, Marquette): "Hope and pray."
Commish says: *Checks if Chilly took (11) NC State* ... I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR COMMENT, CHILLY.
@Sharpdogg (Marquette, Arizona): "Two 2's to stay alive, too. "
Commish says: You forgot "Deuces." at the end.
@ParlayAllDay22 (Pick'em): "Matt Painter is his own bobble-head."
Commish says: SOMEONE MAKE A COMMISH BOBBLE-HEAD. I'LL PAY ANYTHING.
@Fieldking (Pick'em): "Bracket SZN can be a sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare!!"
Commish says: FLASH FORWARD... It's March Madness 2032 on The SZN... @Fieldking writes... THE EXACT SAME COMMENT.
@MONSTERXXX (Pick'em): "MONSTER XXXXXXX WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH !!!!"
Commish says: THE LEGEND IS FULLY BACK!!
Yours in hoops utopia,
The Commish