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The Madness of March was fully on display Thursday in the first full day of the NCAA Tournament: three games went to overtime and there were six seed-line upsets.
Every year 5-seeds enter the tournament with high expectations and visions of a Final Four run, but every year 12-seeds find a way to spoil the party. Many of the participants in our pool tempted fate by selecting 5-seeds and are now eliminated. Iowa was the 2nd most popular choice in the pool coming off a Big Ten championship, but could not outlast 12-seed Richmond who only made the Tournament field by way of winning the A-10 Tournament. Fellow 5-seed UConn also fell victim to a mid-major tournament champion, as New Mexico State’s Teddy Allen announced himself on the national stage with 37 points and a show-boating swagger.
Those two upsets alone knocked out 18% of the Survivor Pool field, but the most surprising result was still to come. For the 2nd consecutive year, a 2-seed is eliminated on the first day of the Tournament. In the ultimate David-Goliath dichotomy, the bluest of blue bloods in Kentucky got smacked around by miniscule Saint Peter’s. Kentucky was one of the favorites to win the National Championship, has likely National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and multi-time Coach of the Year John Calipari, with one of the largest budgets in the sport, and a rabid fanbase. Saint Peter’s had never won an NCAA Tournament game before Thursday. This is so glorious, especially since it will be the only New Jersey celebration of a first round victory:
PEACOCKS. WIN. pic.twitter.com/Jf10r5zyb4
— Saint Peter’s Athletics (@SPUAthletics) March 18, 2022
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After the dust settled on the first day of the Tournament, one-third of pool entries had been eliminated. If you were able to survive Thursday, get your pick in for the 2nd Round games of Saturday March 19. You can review all of the entries or if you need a reminder of who you selected here: NCAA Survival ‘22 - Entries.pdf
Fill out the form below (or follow this link if your browser does not show the form below) with your picks for Saturday, ahead of the Baylor-North Carolina tip off at 11:10 Central at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.