More importantly, Hondo & spawn‘s combined bracket somehow, miraculously, wins our pool, despite her failing to even to properly fill the form out leaving her with the ever popular (No Pick) to win it all. The outcome really didn’t depend on tonight’s final – nobody in the pool had Duke or Butler winning the dang thing so the die was cast when Michigan State and West Virginia lost Saturday. If both those semi-finals had gone the other way maija would have won with the random button and I would have come in second by one point. DARNMGLLE. Anyway, cheers to our winners (and their highly prescient blue eyes for blue devils POTD).

The odds of me winning an NCAA pool are poor. And yet they’re so much lower yet when my team is THE OVERALL #1 SEED and therefore everyone and their mother’s brother’s monkey will be picking them. But really, this is the sort of problem we should all have. Anyway, join our pool, fill out a bracket. But please, be the least bit contrarian and leave the Jayhawks to me ok*?

For sake of historical amusement, let’s remember that the unlikeliest possible person won our pool last year.

*If you don’t believe me, believe Wilbon.

As for those who got in, the fun is going to be in figuring out which high seeds are going out of the tournament first, because they’re not all going to make a run, not this year. Northern Iowa, which won 28 games, will be a threat to Kansas in the second round. Maryland, with seniors Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes, would be a serious threat to Kansas . . . if the Terrapins can get past Houston and Michigan State, which would be a serious threat to Kansas. Georgetown would be a serious threat to Kansas, and certainly Ohio State would be, seeing as Evan Turner of the Buckeyes is the most versatile, most highly skilled player in college basketball this season. I can’t see Kansas, which I think is the best team in the field, going through all four of those teams in the Midwest Region. This, without question, is the Group of Death.

In this weekend’s illicit gambling update, UNC (+ Saint Roy) won & UConn (w/ Dirty Dirty Jim Calhoun) lost today so the top two positions in our pool are finalized – Shazzbot is the winner & Jaywalkers will come in a close second place, two points back. All that’s left to be determined during Monday’s final is if Zed will drop from bronze to fifth if Michigan State can’t continue their run. Interestingly enough, all human entries in the pool were beaten by the automated method of all top seeds (+ UNC). Thanks to all for playing, next year sweet redemption will almost certainly be mine as there’s literally nowhere* for me to go but up.

Oh yeah, and Bill Self is Coach of the Year! Not too shabby as far as pity-party consolation prizes go.

*Ok technically I beat SMHB & NP by 1 point but that’s not saying much considering I tied the dog whose entry was filled out with the friggin random button.

Oh also. If you need one, here’s a little quasify pool. Sign up, win big, mad cash and prizes. The best part is there’s no reason to worry about losing to me (unless of course Kansas repeats…).

This feels good. This feels really, really good. It feels (forewarning, heresy) better than the Red Sox winning last year. It feels way better than the Patriots last couple. Twenty years since they last won it under Larry Brown, Mario Chalmers gave us another chance with a game-tying three from nowhere. I started doing the math just (the middle school years are fuzzy) – I moved to Kansas in the fall of 1988, just after the Jayhawks last won. Two decades, two great coaches, too many chances to lose again. Fan-friggin-tastic.

If you want to put a bracket in a quasify pool please do! (but, before the Thursday games start.) There’s no cash prize, only shame for those who pick the #2 seed in the south to go all the way. Once you sign up this’ll get you back to your picks.