Warren Buffett laughs as your bracket dies
Every edition of March Madness has it’s of upsets; catastrophic, bracket busting upsets. Warren Buffett was a genius when he announced in 2016 that he would reward one million dollars to the person who could secure a perfect bracket when it was all said and done. Genius, because it gives him some positive publicity for setting the public out on an impossible task. There will be no million dollar winner this year, or any other year. In fact, you have more of a chance to be struck by lightning twice in a single 24 hour period than you do picking a perfect bracket. If you’re a masochist and need the exact odds, that’s a one in 9.2 quintillion chance. Pretty sneaky, Warren.
This year should be more than enough proof that picking a perfect bracket is impossible. Let’s take UMBC out of the equation for a second. Teams with top tier head coaches and a track record of tournament success have been hunted down and taken out early this season. SUNY Buffalo destroyed Arizona, a program directly in the heart of an FBI probe and a roster boasting a surefire top 2 pick in the upcoming draft. Gonzaga, a program with a proven track record and great coach, was smacked around by the ACC’s 8th best team, and a nine seed in Florida State. This list goes on and on.
Just when you think you know which program is going to take advantage of this minefield that is the 2018 NCAA Tournament, another surprise is waiting around the corner. Kentucky seemed primed to make a Final Four trip, boasting a ton of All Americans and one of the most talented coaches in the current era of college basketball. That is, until they were upset by the team that finished 4th in the Big 12 regular season standings, Kansas State.
If I were one of these big programs left in the mix, I would either be very nervous at the wacky aura this tournament has, or very excited at the field of super talented teams dwindling down to single digits. I’m sure the cynic in me would be dreading whatever fate had in store for my program.
Of the four teams to advance to the Elite Eight last night, only one of them would have made logical sense if you had predicted it before the tournament had started. That team would be Michigan, a 3 seed, who had just won the Big 10 Tournament. Loyola an 11 Seed, is playing Kansas State, a 9 Seed for a Final Four spot, for crying out loud. It seems that the tournament favorites that are still left (Duke, Kansas, Villanova) are suddenly outnumbered by the “underdogs”.
Just how historic could this tournament be? If Loyola or Syracuse advance to the Final Four, they will tie the record for lowest seed to make a Final Four with the 2011 VCU Rams, the 2006 George Mason Patriots, and the 1986 LSU Tigers. Should they somehow advance to the title game from there, they will shatter the previous record for lowest seed to play for an NCAA Tournament Championship, which is an eight seed. That prestigious honor is held by three teams, the 2014 Kentucky Wildcats, the 2011 Butler Bulldogs, and the 1985 Villanova Wildcats. That 1985 squad would end up being the only one of the bunch to capture the glory of a national title.
What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Okay, maybe this tournament isn’t really that much more crazy than others we have seen in the past (still the craziest that I’ve ever experienced). This brings me back to the crafty veteran, Warren Buffett. The tournament will never be predicted even somewhat accurately, because the tournament is often too crazy to predict. It’s hard enough to lock in all of the Final Four squads correctly, let alone do something like predict the entire tournament correctly. Of course, that’s what makes the magic of March Madness so captivating in the first place.
