Four Square

Wow. Four Elite Eight games, and the biggest "blowout" was Texas Tech's six (6) point win over Gonzaga, along with two overtime games and Michigan State's 1-point squeaker over Duke. Guess the fans got their money's worth.

But how about our contestants? For just the third time in contest history, a wild card has reached the Final Four (1996 Mississippi State, picked by 13; 2013 Wichita State, picked by 1 (Sciarabba), and now 2019 Auburn, picked by 7: Biebel 3, Gorenstein, Harlan, Elle Leach, Rybaltowski, Serri, C Whiteside).

Virginia was a popular pick, chosen by 36 into the Final Four and by 18 as champion. Michigan State was selected by 10 to make the Final Four and by three as champion (Karlsruher, L Leach, J Whiteside). Texas Tech was picked by 7 to make the Final Four (Dale Dye, M Josephs, Sami Leach, E Pogach, Reid, Rybaltowski, Warner) and by none to win it all.

Our three prizewinners, depending on who wins the championship, are as follows:

VIRGINIA

Harlan, 379
C Whiteside, 352
Warner, 325

MICHIGAN STATE

Harlan, 339
Karlsruher, 313
C Whiteside, 312

TEXAS TECH

Harlan, 339
C Whiteside, 312
Biebel 3, 292

AUBURN

Harlan, 414
C Whiteside, 387
Biebel 3, 367

So, congrats to Harlan, who has won the contest for a record third time (no matter which team wins), and to C Whiteside, who also wins something no matter what. And I guess to Mash Leach (179), who has become only the second entrant to finish last in two different contests.

Full standings may be found on the right-hand side of the page, or here.