Tell us some of your NCAA bracket stories

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SabresRule

SabresRule

SatelliteGuys Master
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Apr 15, 2008
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With the NCAA Tournament coming up, that means brackets will be filled out and they can ultimately lead to success or failure.

Here are some of my bracket stories since I started filling them out:

1999- I correctly got UConn, Duke, and Michigan State making the Final Four, but my pick to win it all- Auburn- didn't even make it to St. Pete that year, for they went down to HD's Buckeyesw
(BTW, Matt, could that 1998-99 Ohio State team have beaten the 2006-07 Ohio State team? Which team of Buckeye hoopsters was better in your eyes?)

2000- This was a bipolar thread. On one hand, I picked Michigan State to win the whole thing. OTOH, I crashed and burned when I picked Stanford and Arizona to make it to the Final Four, but lost to the two eighth-seeded teams I already talked about- boring-as-hell Wisconsin and a North Carolina team that had one of their worst seasons record-wise and standings-in-ACC wise.

2001- This stung. While I correctly predicted Michigan State and Duke to make it to Minneapolis, I got the other two wrong, but the way they went out could not be any more different. Stanford at least got to the Elite Eight before losing to a Maryland team that won it all the next year, while #2 Iowa State lost to #15 Hampton, and I'm sure you already know about why that stung.

2002- I correctly had Kansas and Maryland making the Final Four on one side of the bracket, but the other side destroyed me. I had Cincinnati making it all the way to Atlanta, only to crash and burn against a mediocre Bruins team, while I had Pittsburgh winning it all- and they lost in double overtime to Kent freaking State! I was ONE point shy of winning the bracket overall.

2003- Again, I picked Pittsburgh to win it all; this year, they go down in flames to Marquette- freaking Marquette! On the plus side, I picked Kansas and Texas to make it to New Orleans, but the East bracket blew up in my face. I had Wake Forest going to the Superdome, but they lost to Auburn. Noting s more infuriating than seeing a basketball school lose to a football school!

2004- I only got one Final Four team correct- Duke. My other three bracket picks flamed out- while Kansas and St. Joseph's at least got to the Elite Eight, but my pick to win it all- one-loss Stanford- lost to Alabama, maybe the flukiest Elite Eight team of my lifetime.

2005- This went better. I correctly picked Illinois and North Carolina to make the title game, but my other Final Four picks- Washington and Kentucky- went down in the regionals.

2006- I went 0-4- Villanova and Memphis go down in the Elite 8, Washington loses a heartbreaker to UConn in OT, and West Virginia lost in excrutiating fashion to Texas!

2007- Another 0-4- I picked Washington State to win it all, but they couldn't get past the first weekend. My other three Final Four teams- Oregon, Memphis, Kansas- flamed out in the Elite 8.

2008- This may have been my best one. I correctly picked Kansas to win it all and face Memphis in the title game, but my other two didn't work out- Xavier and Washington State. Perhaps my most humiliating moment involved Washington State vs. North Carolina. Anders can tell you all about it.

Those are my bracket tales.

One thing I learned after all these years- teams with HD MM ties will kill my bracket hopes (1999, 2002, 2007)

What about yours?
 
A little bit OT, but do you save your brackets or do you have an insanely good memory? I barely remember who won it all last year...there's no way I could tell you who I had in the final four in '99 :)
 
How could you have picked Auburn to win it all in 99 and Iowa St in 2001? Those were the 2 most overrated teams those years. Their flameouts were hardly surprising, except for the fact that Iowa St got beat by a 15 seed in the 1st round.

As for me I used to have a knack at getting the champion right. I picked UConn over dook in 99 when the media was saying that dook could have beaten the Dream Team. I got Syracuse as a darkhorse right in 2003. I also had UConn again in 2004 and got Michigan St right in 2000. Unfortunately my skills have waned in that dept lately usually due to Carolina coming up short. I guess I'm better at this when Carolina isn't a favorite. Hopefully the Tar Heels will make me look wise again this year when they win it all. :D
 
My brackets are usually terrible, and head into my fireplace by the Sweet Sixteen! :o

However, I usually pick a darkhorse or two that manage to get to the regionals.
 
I don't remember too many of mine, but I know I won by pool one time in about 10 years or so that I did it. It was when Kentucky won in 1996.
 
SabresRule said:
With the NCAA Tournament coming up, that means brackets will be filled out and they can ultimately lead to success or failure.

Here are some of my bracket stories since I started filling them out:

1999- I correctly got UConn, Duke, and Michigan State making the Final Four, but my pick to win it all- Auburn- didn't even make it to St. Pete that year, for they went down to HD's Buckeyesw
(BTW, Matt, could that 1998-99 Ohio State team have beaten the 2006-07 Ohio State team? Which team of Buckeye hoopsters was better in your eyes?)

2000- This was a bipolar thread. On one hand, I picked Michigan State to win the whole thing. OTOH, I crashed and burned when I picked Stanford and Arizona to make it to the Final Four, but lost to the two eighth-seeded teams I already talked about- boring-as-hell Wisconsin and a North Carolina team that had one of their worst seasons record-wise and standings-in-ACC wise.

2001- This stung. While I correctly predicted Michigan State and Duke to make it to Minneapolis, I got the other two wrong, but the way they went out could not be any more different. Stanford at least got to the Elite Eight before losing to a Maryland team that won it all the next year, while #2 Iowa State lost to #15 Hampton, and I'm sure you already know about why that stung.

2002- I correctly had Kansas and Maryland making the Final Four on one side of the bracket, but the other side destroyed me. I had Cincinnati making it all the way to Atlanta, only to crash and burn against a mediocre Bruins team, while I had Pittsburgh winning it all- and they lost in double overtime to Kent freaking State! I was ONE point shy of winning the bracket overall.

2003- Again, I picked Pittsburgh to win it all; this year, they go down in flames to Marquette- freaking Marquette! On the plus side, I picked Kansas and Texas to make it to New Orleans, but the East bracket blew up in my face. I had Wake Forest going to the Superdome, but they lost to Auburn. Noting s more infuriating than seeing a basketball school lose to a football school!

2004- I only got one Final Four team correct- Duke. My other three bracket picks flamed out- while Kansas and St. Joseph's at least got to the Elite Eight, but my pick to win it all- one-loss Stanford- lost to Alabama, maybe the flukiest Elite Eight team of my lifetime.

2005- This went better. I correctly picked Illinois and North Carolina to make the title game, but my other Final Four picks- Washington and Kentucky- went down in the regionals.

2006- I went 0-4- Villanova and Memphis go down in the Elite 8, Washington loses a heartbreaker to UConn in OT, and West Virginia lost in excrutiating fashion to Texas!

2007- Another 0-4- I picked Washington State to win it all, but they couldn't get past the first weekend. My other three Final Four teams- Oregon, Memphis, Kansas- flamed out in the Elite 8.

2008- This may have been my best one. I correctly picked Kansas to win it all and face Memphis in the title game, but my other two didn't work out- Xavier and Washington State. Perhaps my most humiliating moment involved Washington State vs. North Carolina. Anders can tell you all about it.

Those are my bracket tales.

One thing I learned after all these years- teams with HD MM ties will kill my bracket hopes (1999, 2002, 2007)

What about yours?
Click to expand...

NOW you know WHY he hates upsets!!!! LMAO!!

I usually pick TWO brackets. ONE that I think with my head....THAT is the one that usually displayed for the world to see...and the one in my heart, that one I usually keep to myself with upsets all over the place. THAT particular one has Syracuse winning the National Championship about 8 or 9 times in the last 25 years. But mind you, the ONLY time I have picked Syracuse to win it all in my "heart bracket" has been when they were a 5 seed or better. I have NEVER picked them to win it all when they were a 6 seed or above.:o;)
 
One I remember wasn't really a bracket. It was one were you paid a couple of dollars to blindly draw a team out of a hat. It was 1984 and it was at a college. A teacher was doing this drawing. I drew Virginia who made it to the Final Four but the person that won and drew Georgetown found the slip of paper with their name on it laying outside the hat. Apparently it dropped out from someone who drew before and when this guys saw it laying there,it was folded so he couldn't see who's name was on it,he said I'll just take this one. As you know Georgetown won it all that year.
 
In a span of 6 years (1997-2002), I selected 5 of the 6 eventual winners....

1997- Arizona
1998- Kentucky
1999- Connecticut
2000- Michigan St.*
2001- Duke
2002- Maryland

During this span, the only one I missed on was Michigan St.
 
HD MM said:
In a span of 6 years (1997-2002), I selected 5 of the 6 eventual winners....

1997- Arizona
1998- Kentucky
1999- Connecticut
2000- Michigan St.*
2001- Duke
2002- Maryland

During this span, the only one I missed on was Michigan St.
Click to expand...

The question is...did you pick them BEFORE the tourney started or AFTER they reached the Sweet 16?:p;)
 

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