This year's March Madness seemed to be true madness. The knights of Fairleigh Dickinson prevailed over the top-seed Purdue Boilermakers. The seeds of the Final Four teams added up to twenty-three with a 9-seed, two 5-seeds, and a 4-seed. For the second consecutive year, a 15-seed made the Sweet Sixteen. There is always so much to write about with March Madness but I decided to do something for which no other news outlet has the story. My dog used his wacky criteria to become the champion of a school bracket pool!
Image Via CBS Sports
As any good sportswriter must, I filled out a plethora of brackets. And just like all other good sportswriters, my bracket was busted within the first two days. Among my traditions, though, is to fill out a bracket for my dog. Now I know what you are thinking... how can a dog fill out a bracket? Well, my friends, I filled out the bracket using crazy formulas which are fitted to the mind of a dog. They are as follows in order of importance to my dog, Kobi:
Dogs must always win
Cats must lose whenever possible
Animals are voted over humans
Peaceful humans defeat violent humans
If necessary, Kobi (or me in place of Kobi) flips a coin
Image via NCAA.com
First Round:
Kobi got off to a slow start through the first two days. He only got 17/32 of the first round games. This was looking like the years prior where his bracket finished in the 10th percentile of all ESPN brackets or worse. Even with such a pitiful performance from the first round, Kobi had a few bright spots. He picked the Paladins of Furman over the Virginia Cavaliers. He also picked the Florida Atlantic Owls over the Memphis Tigers. Although this is not the greatest pick as 8 vs 9 matchups are historically a coinflip, Kobi went against approximately 60% of all brackets on ESPN. Other than that, Kobi made a few foolish picks such as UNC-Asheville over UCLA, but hey a dog will always pick the Bulldogs. After the first two days, Kobi remained in his usual spot near the bottom of all ESPN brackets.
Image via Fox News
Second Round:
The second round was even worse for Kobi. He only got five games right for a total of 100 points. Some of his picks were great upsets that nobody foresaw though. Kobi picked the Creighton Bluejays to knock out the Baylor Bears. He also picked San Diego State to knockout the Furman Paladins and advance to the sweet sixteen. His other picks included the FAU Owls, UCONN Huskies, and Gonzaga Bulldogs all advancing into the Sweet Sixteen.
Image via Draft Kings
Sweet Sixteen:
The second weekend of March Madness is where Kobi's luck began to make a turn for the better. As the tournament progresses each correct pick becomes worth more points. This means that getting 4/8 games correct in the Sweet Sixteen boosts a bracket a ton. Well, Kobi got 4/8 of the Sweet Sixteen games correct. Kobi predicted the Cinderella run of the FAU Owls and Creighton Bluejays. He also got both Elite Eight teams correct in the west quadrant. Who will Kobi pick in the dog showdown of the west bracket Elite Eight?
Image via SILive
Elite Eight:
There were only two games in the Elite Eight which mattered for Kobi's Bracket. The Owls from FAU continued their brilliant Cinderella run to advance to the Final Four. Kobi hit on this prediction which was crazy because he had never even gotten a Final Four team correct in the past! Next up was the regional final of the west region. The Huskies faced the Bulldogs in a dog eat dog battle. Kobi would have been thrilled with either outcome, but he picked the Huskies to move onto the Final Four. Kobi had two teams in the Final Four for the first time ever!
Image via Draft Kings
Final Four:
The first game of the Final Four included the San Diego Aztecs against the Florida Atlantic Owls. Kobi had the Owls advancing to the National Championship. If the Owls won, Kobi would clinch the win in my school bracket pool. In a back and forth game in which it seemed that neither team could gain a confident lead, the Aztecs prevailed. A buzzer-beater by the Aztecs pushed them over the hump and into the National Championship. Kobi's win would have to wait just a little longer. In the second semifinal, The UCONN Huskies faced off against the Miami Hurricanes. A win by the Huskies and Kobi would once again clinch the win of the bracket pool. The Huskies dominated the whole game and moved onto the National Championship. If only the Owls won, then Kobi would have had both finalists.
Image via Bleacher Report
National Championship and Recap:
With the title already clinched, Kobi had nothing left to cheer for in this game. The Huskies continued their dominance that had been displayed all tournament. This win gave Kobi 320 points for the round and a total of 1,070 points. This was good enough to win the bracket pool by over a hundred points and be by far the best bracket Kobi has ever produced. He finished the the 99.3 percentile for all 18 million ESPN Brackets. This goes to prove how mad March in NCAA basketball truly is. A dog with criteria based on mascots finished in the top 1%!
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