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The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is in the books, which means it's time to take stock of the various CougCenter contests as we head into the Sweet 16.
First, the most popular event: The Traditional Bracket.
Some familiar names in there, led by one-time CougCenter author Andy Crookston. Not far behind are current authors Craig and PJ, along with some familiar readers. There actually are a few more people tied for 10th -- danelo8577, jeedf, reames and yours truly(!) -- but it was on the next page and thus not set up for easy clipping, so you'll have to setting for being named here.
How about the Advanced Bracket contest, in which you can switch picks mid-game?
There actually are only 18 people in this group, and I am not among the top 10. Obviously, my strategy of picking a bunch of underdogs then switching when it was clear they were going to lose (combined with shoddy phone service inside KeyArena) did not work out.
Lastly, the author draft. It's a good thing Craig is doing well with his brackets, because other than getting lucky last year with UConn, he really isn't good at this thing:
Yes, that's Team Evil in the lead of what looks like a three-horse race thanks in large part to UCLA's surprising run to the Sweet 16. Lucky for us, he's either going to lose the Bruins or the Zags in the next game, and if you ask me, that's a win-win for everyone involved.
I don't think Britton's got enough to seriously challenge for the title, but he's got some intriguing teams that could keep him from looking terrible when it's all said and done. And Craig ... well, looks like we've got a repeat of 2013, when he picked the champ with his first pick and still finished last.
How's your bracket? This is the one place where you won't get made fun of for telling us. Who busted out earlier than you thought? Which picks proved to be prescient? Share below!