Sunday, April 17, 2022

2022 March Madness Anti-Picks, Final

Record, Round 6: 0-1
Overall Record: 18-27-1
Total Outlay, Round 6: $800.00
Total Intake, Round 6: $0.00
Total Loss, Round 6: $800.00
Final Overall Winnings: $5.13

I did not see the start of the championship Game because I was protesting such a monumental sporting event being relegated to cable.  (I don't care that it got record-high ratings ... for cable.  It should be on broadcast television, and I continue to insist that the NCAA's latest TV deal with CBS and Turner has been an utter goddamn mistake.)  And then I saw Kansas, my pick to win it all, getting their dicks blown off by upstart North Carolina at Halftime, so I had no incentive to go on Sling and watch the Second Half, so I entertained myself on my phone.

But holy shit!  The Jayhawks made a comeback for the ages!  I totally forgot that Kansas came back from way down at the half to Miami (Fla.) in the Regional Final.  They were capable of coming back, but they were capable of an ugly First Half, and the title Game against the Tar Heels was history repeating itself a Week later.  But damn, I hear that the comeback was awesome!

And it totally blew my pick of Kansas -4 out of the water!  Well, it turned out to be a three-Point Game, and a hell of a Game at that (which is another prediction I totally got wrong; I thought this was going to be a boring rout); Carolina had a chance to tie it at the buzzer, in fact.  But they didn't, and even though Kansas won, they didn't cover.

It's been at least a decade since I picked the champion correct.  That makes me feel good.  But I noticed in the final standings of the big pool I'm in, most of the, oh, top 30 or so finishers, including the champion, did not pick Kansas to win it all.  It helps to pick the champ, but at least in my pool, it is far from necessary.  I finished in the top 100, which is still pretty good (I finished better only once, last year, which means I think I'm in the middle of a good run right now), but I didn't really need Kansas winning it all instead of, like, not picking Virginia Tech to make it to the Final Four.

Meanwhile, I staked all but a nominal profit on the 'Hawks, so even though my big final bet didn't come through, I still finished ahead.  And that's really the point.

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