Bracket Buster Bonanza

Four rounds are in the books and this is how the standings look:

The three way tie at third place has been dismantled and Beth has snuck her way back into contention. The top five spots are separated by a mere 6 points.

So the Final Four is as follows: a tremendous rematch of last year's championship game in Florida vs. UCLA and an outstanding match-up of big men in Georgetown vs. Ohio St. Only 5 people still have their Final Four picks intact: Janet, Jeremy, Ray, Beth, and Julie. Here are everyone's picks for the Final Four in Atlanta:

And finally, here are everyone's picks for who the National Champion will be:

Don't forget that wins in the Final Four are worth 3 points and picking the national champion is a whopping 5 points!

Unbelievable......if Kansas had beat UCLA tonight there would have been a three-way tie for first place! But alas, the Bruins of Westwood channeled the Wizard and were able to outlast those pesky Jayhawks to become the 2nd team to make it to Atlanta for the Final Four (set to face the winner of Florida vs. Oregon). Ironically enough, Kansas, who was the overall Number 1, is the first 1 seed to be eliminated.

Janet and Ray continue their sparring for the Number 1 spot, with Ray regaining the top spot. That three-way tie for third remains, however based on their picks for Sunday's games I'm afraid the triumvirate will be broken up by the end of tomorrow. With 6 people who have the potential of going 2-0 tomorrow there could be a lot of shake-up. At this point we're down to only 7 people who have their Final Four picks still intact.

Here are your scores....and don't forget that tomorrow's games start at 2:40.

That is a fierce three-way tie for 3rd, perhaps today's games will provide a little separation. I have to say how impressed that I am with the fact that 3 of our contestants have winning percentages of over 70%: Ray (73%), Janet and Susan (70%). Going in to today's games only 2 of our players have their Elite Eight picks intact: Bob and Ray. Though even their picks differ on one game: Bob (Kansas) and Ray (UCLA).

Today features two match-ups of #1's against #2's.....Memphis vs. Ohio St. and UCLA vs. Kansas. Below are everyone's picks for today and tomorrow's games:

Some amazing games tonight! Memphis in an absolute nail-biter; Greg Oden with the definitive block to make sure that Ohio St. advances; UCLA living up to their legacy; Kansas rockin' and chalkin' their way to the Elite Eight.

Friday night two more Number One seeds are put to the test with 4 games all together, what will this do to the leaderboard......check back to see!

How about Ben Howland (UCLA's head coach) going against his former Pitt team?

Here's a little twist to this year's pool. For those of you familiar with golf or poker......we're going to analogize this to "pressing" or "buying back in", respectively. For those of you who are luckily unfamiliar with those two matters this will be considered an elective option that you can choose to go with in order to improve your score. Of course, there's always the chance that you could hinder your score as well......

If you choose this option, your score as it stands now (see yesterday's post below) and the picks that you made prior to the tournament will be wiped clean and you will have the opportunity to complete an abbreviated bracket that has been reset to reflect the sixteen teams that remain in the tournament. Since your current score is wiped clean, and because this is an elective option that anyone can take, the point values for each win will be increased if you choose to elect into the bonus pool. However, the new point values will only apply to those who take the option and will be in reverse staggered order (5 pts. for any win in the Sweet Sixteen, 3 pts per win in the Elite Eight, 2 in the Final Four, 1 in the Championship).

So.....

If you're at the bottom of the leaderboard and want a fresh stab at the teams ......this option may be for you!

If you're at the top of the leaderboard and you think that the enhanced point values can give you a boost at this point or you think that with all of those Cinderella teams out of the way that picking will be easy the rest of the way......go ahead and elect!

And now for the mechanics of electing:

(1) Click here to view the amended bracket, compare it to the picks you have and see if this is the right choice for you,

(2) Send me a quick email or post a comment on this page requesting an "edit-able" copy of the new bracket,

(3) Fill it out all the way through the Championship game,

(4) Send it back to me at jdorfman82@yahoo.com by 7:00pm on Thursday March 22nd.

As soon as I hear from people, I will keep a running tally on this page of those who have elected, in case this helps in your decision-making/positioning.

Best of luck choosing what's the best option for you!

Postscript: This option will not be made available after any subsequent rounds, choose now or stay the course with what you have.