3/23/26
Opening weekend of March Madness is one of the most exciting stretches of basketball in the year and while the upsets were down for a second consecutive season, there was still plenty of excitement. Santa Clara and Kentucky played a wild overtime game, Nebraska survived a halfcourt shot that bounced out against Vanderbilt, and VCU had one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history. High Point pulled off the big stunner of the opening round while Texas and Iowa upset their way into the Sweet 16.
In Professor DW’s March Madness Bracket Challenge, most still have their national champions still in the tournament. Some lost that privilege with Iowa’s upset of Florida, guaranteeing a new champion, but the popular picks of Duke, Arizona, and Michigan survived. Houston, Purdue, and UConn were also picked by multiple people and are still in and even Tennessee, St. John’s and Iowa St. were picked and continue to dance on.
The leader of the contest thru two rounds is Emily Mueller with 590 points while Nathan Karasch sits in second with 530. That is a nice lead for Emily but as we move farther into the tournament, the games become more and more valuable. However, Emily also has the most potential with a maximum of 1,830 points which is more than anyone else. She has only lost one Elite Eight team (Florida) and her Final Four is still intact with Michigan, Duke, Arkansas, and Illinois with the Wolverines cutting down the nets.
The top 10 will fall into the money but are required to fill out our contact sheet. An email has been sent to everyone so please make sure to fill that out. Failure to do so by the tip of the Sweet Sixteen games will disqualify you from all prizes. The form is down at the bottom of this page.
Down below is the top 10 leaderboard currently with 15 games to go. Remember, games are worth more points as we go further into the tournament so it is still up for grabs.
Leaderboard (National Champions in Parentheses)
1. Emily Mueller- 590 Points (Michigan)
2. Nathan Karasch- 530 Points (Arizona)
3. Jodi Bennett- 520 Points (Arizona)
T4. Cody Wolfe- 510 Points (Michigan)
T4. Nate Smith- 510 Points (Duke)
T4. Jeff Johnson- 510 Points (Florida)
T7. Braden Honn- 500 Points (Purdue)
T7. Dusty Stearns- 500 Points (Houston)
T7. Christopher Lyle- 500 Points (Duke)
T7. Sarah Langholz- 500 Points (Arizona)
T7. James Handy- 500 Points (Arizona)
T7. Jeff Johnson- 500 Points (Arizona)
T7. Michael Mankus- 500 Points (Michigan)
T7. Beth Leahy- 500 Points (Michigan)
T7. Mycah Feltman- 500 Points (Arizona)
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