For a six-year-old, it didn’t seem like a bad bracket: Two No. 1 seeds and a No. 2 seed in the Final Four seemed like a good bet to get at least a middle-of-the-road, Orlov competitor finish. Surely not all of those teams would collapse, right?
Alas, Asa Kleinbaum put too much faith in the Big Ten in his Voty Goty Mac and Cheese bracket. Illinois and Ohio State saw early exits. Ohio, his darkhorse Final Four pick, scored an impressive first-round upset but went no further. When Asa’s other picks in general fell flat (he picked less than a quarter of the games correct overall), his hopes to climb out of the basement rested with one team: Michigan.
Asa, like many of us, saw his hopes collapse late Tuesday night, when UCLA beat Michigan. Voty Got Mac and Cheese finished with 38 points, clinching last place in the Glimm. Asa receives his Pity Prize: He gets his $5 back.
“Wait, so I get $5?” Asa said Wednesday morning after learning of his fate. “I’m the buffest!”
Asa’s misfortune (or fortune?) was Kendall Gregor’s gain. Eight-year-old Kendall’s kgregor bracket moved back into first place thanks to UCLA’s win, and continues to lead both the overall Glimm and the Kids Championship.
The Glimm is still wide open, though: With eight possible scenarios left, seven people can win outright: Kendall, Bob Connor’s Upset City, Ramona Shelburne’s Dragonfly, Doug Sweet’s Yahtzee, Brent Hopkins’ UCLATER, Curtis Benham’s Sparty72 and Shannon Ceglinsky’s Shannon Ceglinsky. Seven others have a chance to finish in the top three.
In the Kids Championship, we’re down to three contenders: Kendall, Eli Lester’s Eli and Hana Miller’s It’s March and I’m Mad.
And there’s an interesting contender for the Glimm Scholarship: Mrs. Glimm herself, Marion Glim. If Houston beats Baylor, her Grandma G bracket passes her grandson Owen and son-in-law Rich for the family lead.
In the women’s tournament, Paul Mordarski’s Mordy12 2 bracket remains in the lead, but his chances of winning are slim: He’d need Arizona to beat South Carolina in the championship game to have as hot. Otherwise, Lydia Mordarski’s lydiausa1, Lauren Kimball’s LK2 and LK4 and Seth Rubinroit’s Why isn’t USC in this? brackets are in the best shape.
Full men’s standings are here, and full women’s standings are here.