NCAA Tournament (1st and 2nd Rounds)

Okay. Here we go. Too many games to pick them all so here is what we are going to do. I have several picks, some prop bets and a mini-fantasy game. I will post more individual games as we get into the second and third weeks of the tournament.

The deadline for this first set of predictions is tip-off of the first game (early Thursday).

First, give me your sweet sixteen. (1 point per team)

Actual Teams: Louisville, Arizona, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Xavier, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma

Predictions:
Carmen: Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Jeff: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Memphis, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Xavier, UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Illinois, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Kubatski: Louisville, Utah, West Virginia, Boston College, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (12pts)

Kubatski Sr: Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State, Connecticut, Washington, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Xavier, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Marty: Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State, Connecticut, Washington, Utah State, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Oklahoma (10pts)

McClain: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Washington, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Murray: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Oklahoma (13pts)

Paulie: Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State, Connecticut, Washington, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (12pts)

Princess G: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Marquette, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Xavier, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Clemson (13pts)

Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Missouri, Purdue, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Texas, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Ryan G: Louisville, Wake Forest, Dayton, Michigan State, Connecticut, Washington, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Oklahoma (12pts)

Scott: Louisville, Arizona, West Virginia, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Illinois, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Wade: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Boston College, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma (13pts)

Wild Bill: Louisville, Wake Forest, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Xavier, Villanova, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Arizona State, Oklahoma (14pts)

Next, give me your final four. (3 points per team)

Actual Teams: Michigan State, Connecticut, Villanova,
Predictions:
Carmen: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, North Carolina (3pts)
Jeff: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Kubatski: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Marty: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Gonzaga (0pts)
McClain: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Murray: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Paulie: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, North Carolina (3pts)
Princess G: Kansas, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, LSU (3pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, North Carolina (3pts)
Ryan G: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Scott: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, North Carolina (3pts)
Wade: Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Wild Bill: Kansas, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)

Then, give me your champion. (10 points)

Actual Champion: North Carolina
Predictions:
Carmen: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Jeff: Oklahoma (0pts)
Kubatski: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Marty: Pittsburgh (0pts)
McClain: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Murray: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Paulie: Memphis (0pts)
Princess G: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: North Carolina (10pts)
Ryan G: Louisville (0pts)
Scott: Louisville (0pts)
Wade: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Wild Bill: Pittsburgh (0pts)

Name the lowest seeded team (team name) to win in the first round (3 points)

Actual Team: (13) Cleveland State
Predictions:
Carmen: (14) North Dakota State (0pts)
Jeff: (12) Arizona (0pts)
Kubatski: (11) Utah State (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: (12) Arizona (0pts)
Marty: (12) Western Kentucky (0pts)
McClain: (13) Portland State (0pts)
Murray: (11) VCU (0pts)
Paulie: (12) Western Kentucky (0pts)
Princess G: (12) Arizona (0pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: (13) Portland State (0pts)
Ryan G: (14) North Dakota State (0pts)
Scott: (12) Arizona (0pts)
Wade: (13) Mississippi State (0pts)
Wild Bill: (12) Wisconsin (0pts)

Name the lowest seeded team (team name) to advance to the sweet sixteen (3 points)


Actual Team: (12) Arizona
Prediction:
Carmen: (12) Wisconsin (0pts)
Jeff: (6) UCLA (0pts)
Kubatski: (7) Boston College (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: (6) West Virginia (0pts)
Marty: (11) Utah State (0pts)
McClain: (12) Wisconsin (0pts)
Murray: (6) Arizona State (0pts)
Paulie: (6) West Virginia (0pts)
Princess G: (7) Clemson (0pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: (7) Texas (0pts)
Ryan G: (11) Dayton (0pts)
Scott: (12) Arizona (3pts)
Wade: (12) Wisconsin (0pts)
Wild Bill: (6) Arizona State (0pts)

Name the team with highest winning margin in the first round (2 points)

Actual Team: Connecticut by 56
Predictions:
Carmen: North Carolina (0pts)
Jeff: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Kubatski: North Carolina (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Louisville (0pts)
Marty: Louisville (0pts)
McClain: Wake Forest (0pts)
Murray: Louisville (0pts)
Paulie: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Princess G: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: Louisville (0pts)
Ryan G: Memphis (0pts)
Scott: Memphis (0pts)
Wade: Pittsburgh (0pts)
Wild Bill: Memphis (0pts)

Will the 1 seeds combined winning margin be over/under 100 points (2 points)

Actual Result: 129 points
Predictions:
Carmen: Under (0pts)
Jeff: Over (2pts)
Kubatski: Under (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Under (0pts)
Marty: Under (0pts)
McClain: Under (0pts)
Murray: Under (0pts)
Paulie: Under (0pts)
Princess G: Under (0pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: Under (0pts)
Ryan G: Under (0pts)
Scott: Over (2pts)
Wade: Over (2pts)
Wild Bill: Under (0pts)

Name the top 3 scoring teams over the first two rounds (2 points per team in the top 3)

Actual Teams: Connecticut (195), North Carolina (185), Memphis (170)
Predictions:
Carmen: North Carolina, Syracuse, Missouri (2pts)
Jeff: Louisville, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma (0pts)
Kubatski: North Carolina, Louisville, Villanova (2pts)
Kubatski Sr: Louisville, Connecticut, Pittsburgh (2pts)
Marty: Villanova, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh (0pts)
McClain: Gonzaga, Villanova, Wake Forest (0pts)
Murray: Louisville, Duke, Memphis (2pts)
Paulie: North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse (2pts)
Princess G: Kansas, Connecticut, North Carolina (4pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: Louisville, North Carolina, Missouri (2pts)
Ryan G: Pittsburgh, Memphis, Connecticut (4pts)
Scott: Memphis, Oklahoma, North Carolina (4pts)
Wade: Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Louisville (2pts)
Wild Bill: North Carolina, Memphis, Pittsburgh (4pts)

Name the conference with the highest winning percentage for the whole tournament (3 points)

Actual Conference: Big East - 17-7 (.708)
Predictions:
Carmen: Big East (3pts)
Jeff: Big East (3pts)
Kubatski: Conference USA (0pts)
Kubatski Sr: Big East (3pts)
Marty: Conference USA (0pts)
McClain: Atlantic Coast (0pts)
Murray: Conference USA (0pts)
Paulie: Conference USA (0pts)
Princess G: Big East (3pts)
Ronnie “Butters” Rowe: Big East (3pts)
Ryan G: Big East (3pts)
Scott: Big East (3pts)
Wade: Conference USA (0pts)
Wild Bill: Big XII (0pts)

Fantasy Game:
Pick 5 players. I will keep track of their total points, rebounds and assists for the ENTIRE TOURNAMENT. You want players who will get big stats and go deep. RULE: You must pick one player from a 1-3 seed, one player from a 4-6 seed, one player from a 7-9 seed, one player from a 10-12 seed, and one player from a 13-16 seed.
Scoring for fantasy will be based on rank. 1st place gets 13 points, 2nd place gets 12 points and so on. Last place will get 0 points.

Teams:

Carmen:
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) [4 games - 114pts, 60reb, 5ast = 179total]
Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia) [1 game -12pts, 5reb, 1ast = 18total]
Byron Eaton (Oklahoma State) [2 games -35pts, 2reb, 17ast = 54total]
Marcus Landry (Wisconsin) [2 games -28pts, 13reb, 0ast = 41total]
Ben Woodside (North Dakota State) [1game - 37pts, 2reb, 3ast = 42total]
[334 total = 4th place] (10pts)

Jeff:
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) [4 games - 114pts, 60reb, 5ast = 179total]
Toney Douglas (Florida State) [1 game -26pts, 5reb, 2ast = 33total]
Marcus Thornton (LSU) [2 games - 55pts, 12reb 5ast = 72total]
Jordan Hill (Arizona) [3 games - 47pts, 33reb, 6ast = 86total]
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) [1 game - 7pts, 5reb, 0ast = 12total]
[382 total = 2nd place] (12pts)

Kubatski:
DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh) [4 games - 67pts, 55reb, 7ast = 129total]
Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia) [1 game -12pts, 5reb, 1ast = 18total]
Tyrese Rice (Boston College) [1 game - 9pts, 3reb, 4ast = 16total]
Eric Maynor (VCU) [1 game - 21pts, 6reb, 7ast = 34total]
J’Nathan Bullock (Cleveland State) [2 games - 28pts, 16reb, 1ast = 45total]
[242 total = 14th place] (0pts)

Kubatski Sr:
Terrance Williams (Louisville) [4 games - 56pts, 37reb, 17ast = 110total]
James Johnson (Wake Forest) [1 game - 22pts, 8reb, 1ast = 31total]
Damion James (Texas) [2games - 33pts, 19reb, 3ast = 55total]
Jordan Hill (Arizona) [3 games - 47pts, 33reb, 6ast = 86total]
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) [1 game - 7pts, 5reb, 0ast = 12total]
[294 total = 8th place] (6pts)

Marty:
DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh) [4 games - 67pts, 55reb, 7ast = 129total]
Josh Heytvelt (Gonzaga) [3games - 46pts, 14reb, 3ast = 63total]
Damion James (Texas) [2games - 33pts, 19reb, 3ast = 55total]
Gary Wilkinson (Utah State) [1 game - 15pts, 4reb, 1ast = 20total]
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) [1 game - 7pts, 5reb, 0ast = 12total]
[279 total = Tie - 10th place] (4pts)

McClain:
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) [4 games - 114pts, 60reb, 5ast = 179total]
Jeff Teague (Wake Forest) [1 game - 10pts, 1reb, 5ast = 16total]
Matt Howard (Butler) [1 game - 22pts, 8reb, 1ast = 31total]
Eric Maynor (VCU) [1 game - 21pts, 6reb, 7ast = 34total]
Jeremiah Dominguez (Portland State) [1 game - 13pts, 4reb, 2ast = 19total]
[279 total = Tie - 10th place] (4pts)

Murray:
DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh) [4 games - 67pts, 55reb, 7ast = 129total]
Josh Heytvelt (Gonzaga) [3games - 46pts, 14reb, 3ast = 63total]
Evan Turner (Ohio State) [1 game - 25pts, 9reb, 8ast = 42total]
AJ Slaughter (Western Kentucky) [2 games - 41pts, 8reb, 3ast = 52total]
Kenneth Faried (Morehead State) [1 game - 14pts, 11reb, 0ast = 25total]
[311 total = 6th place] (8pts)

Paulie:
Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) [6 games - 105pts, 47reb, 8ast = 160total]
Jeff Teague (Wake Forest) [1 game - 10pts, 1reb, 5ast = 16total]
Tyrese Rice (Boston College) [1 game - 9pts, 3reb, 4ast = 16total]
Eric Maynor (VCU) [1 game - 21pts, 6reb, 7ast = 34total]
Ben Woodside (North Carolina) [1game - 37pts, 2reb, 3ast = 42total]
[268 total = 13th place] (1pt)

Princess G:
Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) [6 games - 105pts, 47reb, 8ast = 160total]
Jeff Teague (Wake Forest) [1 game - 10pts, 1reb, 5ast = 16total]
James Anderson (Oklahoma State) [2 games - 25pts, 8reb, 3ast = 36total]
Greivis Vasquez (Maryland) [2 games - 45pts, 8reb, 9ast = 62total]
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) [1 game - 7pts, 5reb, 0ast = 12total]
[286 total = 9th place] (5pts)

Ronnie “Butters” Rowe:
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) [4 games - 114pts, 60reb, 5ast = 179total]
Jeff Teague (Wake Forest) [1 game - 10pts, 1reb, 5ast = 16total]
AJ Abrams (Texas) [2 games - 43pts, 7reb, 3ast - 53total]
Eric Maynor (VCU) [1 game - 21pts, 6reb, 7ast = 34total]
Ben Woodside (North Dakota State) [1game - 37pts, 2reb, 3ast = 42total]
[324 total = 5th place] (9pts)

Ryan G:
DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh) [4 games - 67pts, 55reb, 7ast = 129total]
Jon Brockman (Washington) [2 games - 30pts, 33reb, 4ast = 67total]
Damion James (Texas) [2games - 33pts, 19reb, 3ast = 55total]
Chris Wright (Dayton) [2 games - 37pts, 19reb, 2ast = 58total]
Ben Woodside (North Dakota State) [1game - 37pts, 2reb, 3ast = 42total]
[351 total = 3rd place] (11pts)

Scott:
Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) [4 games - 114pts, 60reb, 5ast = 179total]
Toney Douglas (Florida State) [1 game -26pts, 5reb, 2ast = 33total]
Marcus Thornton (LSU) [2 games - 55pts, 12reb 5ast = 72total]
Chase Buddinger (Arizona) [3 games - 47pts, 15reb, 9ast = 71total]
Ben Woodside (North Dakota State) [1game - 37pts, 2reb, 3ast = 42total]
[397 total = 1st place] (13pts)

Wade:
DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh) [4 games - 67pts, 55reb, 7ast = 129total]
JaJuan Johnson (Purdue) [49pts, 16reb, 3ast = 68total]
AJ Abrams (Texas) [2 games - 43pts, 7reb, 3ast - 53total]
Taj Gibson (USC) [2 games - 27pts, 6reb, 6ast = 39total]
Matt Kingsley (Stephen F. Austin) [1 game - 2pts, 4reb, 0ast = 6total]
[295 total = 7th place] (7pts)

Wild Bill:
Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) [6 games - 105pts, 47reb, 8ast = 160total]
James Johnson (Wake Forest) [1 game - 22pts, 8reb, 1ast = 31total]
Trevor Booker (Clemson) [1 game - 18pts, 11reb, 1ast = 30total]
Taj Gibson (USC) [2 games - 27pts, 6reb, 6ast = 39total]
Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) [1 game - 7pts, 5reb, 0ast = 12total]
[272 total = 12th place] (2pts)