View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
Posted: 03/21/19 9:08 pm ::: The Mascot Bracket |
Reply |
|
Even though I've been busy with other things, traditions must be upheld.
Same rules as always:
I pick winners and losers based on team nicknames and mascots. I use the names on the teams’ sites. To ensure that the results are as arbitrary as possible, I divide the mascots into five categories:
Occupations, which beat groups and mammals
Groups, which beat non-mammals and everything else
Mammals, which beat groups and non-mammals
Non-mammals, which beat occupations and everything else
Everything else, which beat occupations and mammals
When two teams are in the same category, I’ll pick the winner based on which one I think would win or, sometimes, which team it would be more amusing to have win. I try to avoid the temptation to flip a coin (well, usually).
I’m putting this bracket into the tournament challenge and will report on the results.
Here we go:
1st round
Albany
1 Louisville Cardinals over 16 Robert Morris Colonials – Cardinals are very aggressive birds
8 Michigan Wolverines over 9 Kansas Jayhawks – one of the times the rules give you what you’d expect
5 Gonzaga Bulldogs over 12 Arkansas Little Rock Trojans – their bite is worse than their bark
13 Boise State Broncos over 4 Oregon State Beavers – Beavers got stomped
6 UCLA Bruins over 11 Tennessee Lady Vols – a mauling
14 Radford Highlanders over 3 Maryland Terrapins – who knew what bagpipes do to turtles?
7 Rutgers Scarlet Knights over 10 Buffalo Bulls – it turns out lances are very effective against herbivores
15 Towson Tigers over 2 Connecticut Huskies – Huskies were nipping at the Tigers heels for a while
Chicago
16 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats over 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish – no big cats in Ireland
9 Michigan State Spartans over 8 Central Michigan Chippewas – Spartans appear to have helmets, so I give them the edge
5 Marquette Golden Eagles over 12 Rice Owls – close, but Eagles soared higher for the rebounds
13 Wright State Raiders over 4 Texas A&M Aggies – peaceful farmers were no match
6 DePaul Blue Demons over 11 Missouri State Tigers – they cast a spell
3 Iowa State Cyclones over 14 New Mexico State Aggies – blown away
7 Brigham Young Cougars over 10 Auburn Eagles – eventually the Eagles had to land
2 Stanford Cardinal over 15 California Davis Aggies – Aggies saw red
Greensboro
1 Baylor Bears over 16 Abilene Christian Wildcats – going with the bigger carnivore here
8 California Golden Bears over 9 North Carolina Tar Heels – Tar Heels got stuck
12 Bucknell Bison over 5 Florida State Seminoles – it was a stampede
13 Belmont Bruins over 4 South Carolina Gamecocks – don’t think about bears in chicken coops
11 Princeton Tigers over 6 Kentucky Wildcats – Tigers are bigger
3 North Carolina State Wolfpack over 14 Maine Black Bears – it was a group effort
7 Missouri Tigers over 10 Drake Bulldogs – seems like a lot of dog v. predator matchups
15 Mercer Bears over 2 Iowa Hawkeyes – took a while for Bears to catch the Hawkeyes, but then it was over fast
Portland
16 Southern Coyotes over 1 Mississippi State Bulldogs – Wily v. tenacious
9 Clemson Tigers over 8 South Dakota Coyotes– USD ended up with their tails between their legs
5 Arizona State Sun Devils over 12 Central Florida Knights – no magic for UCF
13 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles over 4 Miami Hurricanes – flew into the eye of the storm
11 Quinnipiac Bobcats over 6 South Dakota State Jackrabbits – pretty obvious
3 Syracuse Orange over 14 Fordham Rams – Orange just bounced around a lot
7 Texas Longhorns over 10 Indiana Hoosiers – the horns did it
15 Portland State Vikings over 2 Oregon Ducks – the longboats were a big advantage
Second round
Albany
8 Michigan Wolverines over 1 Louisville Cardinals – another #1 seed bows out
13 Boise State Broncos over 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs – more stomping
6 UCLA Bruins over 14 Radford Highlanders – Bears don’t mind bagpipes
7 Scarlet Knights over 15 Towson Tigers – Tigers get skewered2 South
Chicago
16 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats over 9 Michigan State Spartans – scratching and clawing
5 Marquette Golden Eagles over 13 Wright State Raiders – raptors get it done
6 DePaul Blue Demons over 3 Iowa State Cyclones – supernatural over natural
2 Stanford Cardinal over 7 Brigham Young Cougars – Colorblind cats couldn’t see Cardinal
Greensboro
8 California Golden Bears over 1 Baylor Bears – Golden is better, right?
13 Belmont Bears over 12 Bucknell Bison – another herbivore, carnivore matchup
11 Princeton Tigers over 3 North Carolina Wolfpack – bigger teeth
15 Mercer Bears over Missouri Tigers – might go the other way on another day
Portland
9 Clemson Tigers over 16 Southern Coyotes – bigger carnivore wins
13 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles over 5 Arizona State Sun Devils – hey, it’s what the rules say
3 Syracuse Orange over 11 Quinnipiac Bobcats – Bobcats paid no attention to the fruit, to their regret
7 Texas Longhorns over 15 Portland State Vikings – bigger horns than on the Vikings’ helmets
Sweet 16
Albany
8 Michigan Wolverines over 13 Boise State Broncos – they took out the weaker ones in the herd first
7 Rutgers Scarlet Knights over 6 UCLA Bruins – turns out riding a horse was an advantage
Chicago
16 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats over 5 Marquette Golden Eagles – seems logical
6 DePaul Blue Demons over 2 Stanford Cardinal – Illinois is a blue state
Greensboro – the all-mammal region
13 Belmont Bruins over 8 California Golden Bears – close all the way
11 Princeton Tigers over 15 Mercer Bears – Tigers were way more aggressive
Portland
9 Clemson Tigers over 13 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles – once they caught Eagles, it was all over
3 Syracuse Orange over 7 Texas Longhorns – you’d think they’d have been crushed, but apparently not
Elite 8
Albany
7 Rutgers Scarlet Knights over 8 Michigan – I swear this is how the rules say this comes out
Chicago
6 DePaul Blue Demons over 16 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats – fire and brimstone spooked the Wildcats
Greensboro
11 Princeton Tigers over 13 Belmont Bruins – see Sweet 16 game
Portland
3 Syracuse Orange over 9 Clemson Tigers – one quasi-plausible team makes it to Tampa
Final Four
6 DePaul Blue Demons over 7 Rutgers Scarlet Knights – superstition takes over
3 Syracuse Orange over 11 Princeton Tigers – see Elite 8 game
National Championship
6 DePaul Blue Demons over 3 Syracuse Orange – Doug Bruno gets a championship
|
|
bkmgr
Joined: 28 Apr 2009 Posts: 64 Location: CT
Back to top |
Posted: 03/22/19 7:09 am ::: Re: The Mascot Bracket |
Reply |
|
beknighted wrote: |
Even though I've been busy with other things, traditions must be upheld. |
The Mascot Bracket - Yay!
This might be the reveal I look forward the most!
|
|
ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11232
Back to top |
Posted: 03/22/19 9:32 am ::: |
Reply |
|
Always love the mascot bracket ... thanks.
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
|
|
fanaticka
Joined: 02 Dec 2011 Posts: 101 Location: Czech Republic
Back to top |
Posted: 03/22/19 1:05 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
I ve been waiting for this! It is always fun.
|
|
Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012 Posts: 2539
Back to top |
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
|
Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012 Posts: 2539
Back to top |
|
CBiebel
Joined: 23 Dec 2004 Posts: 1058 Location: PA
Back to top |
|
FrozenLVFan
Joined: 08 Jul 2014 Posts: 3519
Back to top |
Posted: 03/22/19 4:47 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
I love the Mascot Bracket!
|
|
Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012 Posts: 2539
Back to top |
Posted: 03/22/19 7:48 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Aww that was some nice poetry.
_________________ "White privilege is unseen by white pompous asses"
Feelings, nothing more than feelings...
|
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
Posted: 03/24/19 3:49 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Through one round, the Mascot Bracket correctly picked half of the games, for a total of 160 points, which puts it in the bottom 3%. I have high hopes of ending up much worse, though, because:
9 of 16 Sweet 16 teams;
5 of 8 Elite 8 teams;
3 of 4 Final Four teams;
1 of 2 National Final teams; and
the National Champion
lost in the first round.
|
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
Posted: 03/26/19 6:59 am ::: |
Reply |
|
I am sorry to say that the Mascot Bracket correctly picked UCLA and Stanford to make the Sweet 16, but every single Elite 8 team it picked has been eliminated after 2 rounds. I count that as a success.
The Mascot Bracket is now in the bottom 1% of the Tournament Challenge, somewhere around 73,000 spots away from first. And since it can't get any more points, it can only finish worse.
|
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
Posted: 03/30/19 7:45 am ::: |
Reply |
|
The Mascot Bracket is now ranked 72,903. The downward slide continues.
|
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
Posted: 04/01/19 10:05 pm ::: |
Reply |
|
Through the Elite 8, the Mascot Bracket is now ranked 73,097, down 194 spots since the Sweet 16 games, and now is in the bottom 0.9%, or 664 spots from the bottom if I've done the arithmetic right. I suspect that most of the brackets worse than the Mascot Bracket actually weren't completed, but there's no way to tell.*
*It's still possible for a bracket with fewer than 200 points to have a live team - if you got, say, Notre Dame right and picked every other game wrong you'd have 150 points, but it seems pretty unlikely that there would be more than a handful of those brackets. We'll see.
|
|
beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
Back to top |
Posted: 04/08/19 7:02 am ::: |
Reply |
|
The Mascot Bracket finished ranked 500,503, in the bottom 0.9%. At sometime in the past week, ESPN discovered another 425,000 or entries in the Tournament Challenge, since it was ranked around 73,000th on April 1.
|
|
summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013 Posts: 7870 Location: Shenandoah Valley
Back to top |
Posted: 04/08/19 10:02 am ::: |
Reply |
|
Well, the Bears mauled the Fighting Irish leprechauns......
_________________ Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohows permanent.
It takes 3 years to build a team and 7 to build a program.--Conventional Wisdom
|
|
|
|