Saturday, March 12, 2016

Butscherwatch

As of 1am on Saturday night (really Sunday morning), 26 conferences have determined their champion, with one late game still going on and five more tomorrow. When we last left everybody's favorite hard luck poolster, Butscher, despite his having chosen either the most popular or second-most popular team in all 32 conferences, he had whiffed on his first 13 chances to get a point. Let's see how he did today, shall we?

In Conference USA, Middle Tennessee State (chosen by L Leach and J Miller) edged Old Dominion (chosen only by Tester), 55-53. Butscher went with the most popular pick, UAB, which was upset earlier in the tournament. Butscherwatch: oh for 14.

Butscher also lost his Big East pick yesterday, Xavier (2nd most popular choice), but nearly everybody else lost today, as Villanova (taken by 44) went down my a mere basket to Seton Hall (picked by Fitch), 69-67. Butscherwatch: oh for 15.

In the Mountain West, Butscher's pick was again the most popular but not the most successful, as San Diego State (touted by 64) lost to Fresno State (guessed by J Broder, Pogach), 68-63. Butscherwatch: oh for 16.

In the SWAC, Butscher once again went with the most popular choice, but you see the trend here? Texas Southern (taken by 62) lost yesterday and Southern University (selected by 5: George B, Booth, Gorenstein, Rubinson, Rybaltowski) squeaked by Jackson State (predicted by nobody), 54-53. Butscherwatch: oh for 17.

In the MAC, it was déjà vu all over again, as Butscher went with favorite Akron (taken by 58), then watched the Zips lose to Buffalo (picked by 3: Sa Leach, Su Leach, R Simon) on a late three-pointer, 64-61. Butscherwatch: oh for 18.

In the Big Sky, Butscher liked second-most popular Montana (taken by 16), but the Grizzlies failed to get past Weber State (selected by 48), losing 62-59. Butscherwatch: oh for 19.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Butscher selected most popular Virginia in the ACC, only to see the Hoos fall to the Heels of UNC (taken by 17), 61-57. Butscherwatch: oh for 20.

At the risk of sounding like a brokener record, the big, bad Butscher chose most popular New Mexico State (selected by 59) in the WAC, only to see the Aggies go down on a last second three-pointer by CS-Bakersfield (chosen by Crotty, Harlan), 57-54. Butscherwatch: oh for 21.

The Pac 12 continued the Butscheristic trend, with a twist. Our hero selected Utah, the second-most popular choice, but Utah didn't lose close like all those others. No, the Utes got smashed into tiny pieces, 88-57, at the hands of the Oregon Ducks (taken by 29). Butscherwatch: oh for 22.

In the Big West, most popular Hawaii (taken by 47) is currently winning over Long Beach State (liked by 3: Baumgarten, P Leach, Templeton), but Butscher went with second-most popular UC-Irvine, who bowed out some time ago. Similarly, he went with Temple, the most popular pick in the AAC, but tomorrow's AAC championship game is between Connecticut (picked by 13) and Memphis (favored by nobody). Butscherwatch: oh for 24.

But then a funny thing happened in the America East conference: Butscher picked a favorite (Stony Brook, taken by 55), and the favorite won, beating Vermont (picked by Su Leach, Pogach), 80-74. Then again in the MEAC, where Butscher's pick, Hampton (chosen by 47), beat South Carolina State (selected by 9: Anania, Booth, L Leach, J McAtee, M Peloso, Rubinson, Rybaltowski, R Simon, Tharp), 81-69. Then one more time, in the Big 12, Butscher went with the most popular team (Kansas, picked by 43), and that popular club beat West Virginia (taken by 4: J Donadio, Jr., L Leach, Rubinson, Templeton), 81-71. In the Southland, he once again went with a favorite (Stephen F. Austin, selected by 64) and that favorite clobbered a pretender (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, taken by 3: George B, Booth, J McAtee), by a score of 82-60. So, happy days but not that happy. Final Butscherwatch of the day: 4 for 28.

For those wishing to place bets on tomorrow's games, the Butscher has favorites Michigan State (taken by 42) and Arkansas-Little Rock (liked by 53), and second-most popular VCU (among 15) and Texas A&M (among 9: Booth, J Broder, Butscher, Kovolski, B Peloso, Pogach, Smith, Steinhardt).

Tops in the standings is M Wanger, with 68 points, followed by M Peloso (66), Harlan (66), Crotty (64), and R Simon (64). Another nine entrants have more than 60 points, with a lot more points to be decided tomorrow. Last place, of course, belongs to Butscher, with 29 points.

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