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beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
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Posted: 03/16/18 7:43 am ::: The Mascot Bracket |
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It’s a tradition.
Same rules as always:
I pick winners and losers based on team nicknames and mascots. I use the names on the teams’ sites. To ensure that the results are as arbitrary as possible, I divide the mascots into five categories:
Occupations, which beat groups and mammals
Groups, which beat non-mammals and everything else
Mammals, which beat groups and non-mammals
Non-mammals, which beat occupations and everything else
Everything else, which beat occupations and mammals
When two teams are in the same category, I’ll pick the winner based on which one I think would win or, sometimes, which team it would be more amusing to have win. I try to avoid the temptation to flip a coin (well, usually).
I’m putting this bracket into the tournament challenge and will report on the results.
Here we go:
1st round
Albany
16 St. Francis Red Flash over 1 Connecticut Huskies - blinded by the light
8 Miami Hurricanes over 9 Quinnipiac Bobcats - blown away
5 Duke Blue Devils over 12 Belmont Bruins - Devils are scary
13 Mercer Bulldogs over 4 Georgia Bulldogs - might makes right
11 Buffalo Bulls over 6 South Florida Bulls - Buffalo bulls are tougher than regular ones
3 Florida State Seminoles over 14 Arkansas Little Rock Trojans - Seminoles eventually acquired guns
10 Virginia Cavaliers over 7 California Golden Bears - weapons make a difference
2 South Carolina Gamecocks over 15 North Carolina A&T Aggies - can’t really explain this one
Kansas City
16 Nicholls State Colonels over 1 Mississippi State Bulldogs - It’s not the KFC Colonels, so pretty tough
8 Syracuse Orange over 9 Oklahoma State Cowgirls - ‘Cuse uniform color made it hard for Cowgirls to find the ball
12 Princeton Tigers over 5 Maryland Terrapins - this one seems obvious
13 Elon Phoenix over 4 North Carolina Wolfpack - now maybe if they were werewolves
6 Iowa Hawkeyes over 11 Creighton Bluejays - the raptors win
3 UCLA Bruins over 14 American Eagles - Eagles swooped but Bruins grabbed them
7 Arizona State Sun Devils over 10 Nebraska Cornhuskers - simple farming folk were no match
15 Maine Black Bears over 2 Texas Longhorns - once they got past the horns it was no contest
Lexington
16 Boise State Broncos over 1 Louisville Cardinals - size matters
8 Marquette Golden Eagles over 9 Dayton Flyers - this was a surprise
5 Missouri Tigers over Florida Gulf Coast Eagles - cats and birds, so you know the result
4 Stanford Cardinal over 13 Gonzaga Bulldogs - dogs don’t see red, which was a handicap
6 Oregon State Beavers over 11 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers - WKU players tripped over Beavers’ dam
14 Liberty Flames over 3 Tennessee Lady Vols - Lady Vols were burned out
10 Northern Colorado Bears over 7 Michigan Wolverines - no contest once Bears got out of hibernation
15 Grambling Tigers over 2 Baylor Bears - close, but the Tigers have bigger teeth
Spokane
16 Cal State Northridge Matadors over 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish - and all the #1s are out in the 1st round
9 Villanova Wildcats over 9 South Dakota State Jackrabbits - predator-prey
12 Oklahoma Sooners over 5 DePaul Blue Demons - ran ‘em over with their prairie schooners
4 Texas A&M Aggies over 13 Drake Bulldogs - Aggies tamed the dogs
6 LSU Tigers over 11 Central Michigan Chippewas - Tigers stalked them
14 George Washington Colonials over 3 Ohio State Buckeyes - GWU ate them right up
7 Green Bay Phoenix over 10 Minnesota Golden Gophers - it was magical
15 Seattle Redhawks over 2 Oregon Ducks - pretty sure this would happen in nature, too
Second round
Albany
8 Miami Hurricanes over 16 St. Francis Red Flash - could see the flash in the storm
5 Duke Blue Devils over 13 Mercer Bears - that pitchfork came in handy
11 Buffalo Bulls over 3 Florida State Seminoles - feels like it should be the other way around
2 South Carolina Gamecocks over 10 Virginia Cavaliers - at least one 2 seed makes it to the Sweet 16
Kansas City
8 Syracuse Orange over 16 Nicholls State Colonels - color wars?
13 Elon Phoenix over 12 Princeton Tigers - Tigers were earthbound
3 UCLA Bruins over 6 Iowa Hawkeyes - I think I used the joke for this one already
7 Arizona State Sun Devils over 15 Maine Black Bears - too hot for Bears to handle
Lexington
16 Boise State Broncos over 8 Marquette Golden Eagles - once the Eagles landed, they got stomped
4 Stanford Cardinal over 5 Missouri Tigers - Tigers would have been in better shape if it had been the bird, not the color
14 Liberty Flames over 6 Oregon State Beavers -burned the dam down
15 Grambling State Tigers over 10 Northern Colorado Bears - I know I used this joke already
Spokane
16 Cal State Northridge Matadors over 9 Villanova Wildcats - Matadors have swords
4 Texas A&M Aggies over 12 Oklahoma Sooners - old school B12 matchup
6 LSU Tigers over 14 George Washington Colonials - Tigers bared their claws
15 Seattle Redhawks over 7 Green Bay Phoenix - Redhawks thought Phoenix was just another bird
Sweet 16
Albany
5 Duke Blue Devils over 8 Miami Hurricanes - weather doesn't bother devils
11 Buffalo Bulls over 2 South Carolina Gamecocks - they stomped them
Kansas City
13 Elon Phoenix over 8 Syracuse Orange - Orange not hot enough to bother Phoenix
7 Arizona State Sun Devils over 3 UCLA Bruins - nasty sunburns
Lexington
4 Stanford Cardinal over 16 Boise State Broncos - 2nd year in a row that Cardinal make Mascot Bracket Elite 8
14 Liberty Flames over 15 Grambling State Tigers - Tigers wisely run from fire
Spokane
4 Texas A&M Aggies over 16 Cal State Northridge Matadors - those darned farm implements
6 LSU Tigers over 15 Seattle Redhawks - gives us the most normal Elite 8 matchup of the bracket
Elite 8
Albany
5 Duke Blue Devils over 11 Buffalo Bulls - JMac gets a Final Four
Kansas City
13 Elon Phoenix over 7 Arizona State Sun Devils - a little sun doesn’t bother the Phoenix
Lexington
14 Liberty Flames over 4 Stanford Cardinal - Flames were a bit hotter
Spokane
4 Texas A&M Aggies over 6 LSU Tigers - more farm implements
Final Four
5 Duke Blue Devils over 4 Texas A&M Aggies - supernatural
13 Elon Phoenix over 14 Liberty Flames - Phoenix had a big 2nd half comeback after getting torched early
National Championship
13 Elon Phoenix over 5 Duke Blue Devils - Phoenix resurrected themselves once again late in the game
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SpaceJunkie
Joined: 10 Sep 2012 Posts: 4241 Location: Minnesota
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013 Posts: 7828 Location: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted: 03/16/18 1:28 pm ::: |
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By this logic, in last night's WNIT games, Radford's Highlanders'would have been eaten by Penn State's Nittany Lions, and JMU's Dukes would have been slashed by ETSU's Buccaneers. Neither happened.
_________________ Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohows permanent.
It takes 3 years to build a team and 7 to build a program.--Conventional Wisdom
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cthskzfn
Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Posts: 12851 Location: In a world where a PSYCHOpath like Trump isn't potus.
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Marquette Fan
Joined: 06 Mar 2005 Posts: 3575
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Queenie
Joined: 18 Nov 2004 Posts: 18029 Location: Queens
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Posted: 03/16/18 11:11 pm ::: |
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summertime blues wrote: |
By this logic, in last night's WNIT games, Radford's Highlanders'would have been eaten by Penn State's Nittany Lions, and JMU's Dukes would have been slashed by ETSU's Buccaneers. Neither happened. |
The mascot bracket is never meant to be taken seriously.
_________________ Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.
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beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
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Posted: 03/17/18 12:09 am ::: |
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Through one day, the Mascot Bracket correctly picked 6 games and is firmly in the bottom 1% of all brackets in the ESPN Tournament Challenge. It has lost 5 Sweet 16 teams, 2 Elite 8 teams, 2 Final Four teams, one national finalist and the national champion. Not bad for one day's work.
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beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
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Posted: 03/18/18 7:44 am ::: |
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Through two days, the Mascot Bracket remains in the bottom 1% of the ESPN Tournament Challenge, despite a brief flirtation with the bottom 2%.
It's now lost 7 of its Sweet 16 teams, 3 of its Elite 8 teams, 2 Final Four teams, one national finalist, and the national champion. (Apparently the Phoenix will not rise again.)
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Ex-Ref
Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 8942
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Posted: 03/18/18 9:29 am ::: |
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beknighted wrote: |
Through two days, the Mascot Bracket remains in the bottom 1% of the ESPN Tournament Challenge, despite a brief flirtation with the bottom 2%.
It's now lost 7 of its Sweet 16 teams, 3 of its Elite 8 teams, 2 Final Four teams, one national finalist, and the national champion. (Apparently the Phoenix will not rise again.) |
I hope that you entered a bracket with the opposite team winning the game. 99% would lead a lot of groups!
_________________ "Women are judged on their success, men on their potential. It’s time we started believing in the potential of women." —Muffet McGraw
“Thank you for showing the fellas that you've got more balls than them,” Haley said, to cheers from the crowd.
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beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
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Posted: 03/18/18 10:16 am ::: |
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Ex-Ref wrote: |
I hope that you entered a bracket with the opposite team winning the game. 99% would lead a lot of groups! |
Maybe I should try that next year.
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beknighted
Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 11050 Location: Lost in D.C.
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Posted: 04/01/18 9:10 pm ::: |
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The Mascot Bracket ended the tournament with a Tournament Challenge ranking somewhere around 424,000, in the bottom 2%. It's slightly disappointing to finish so high.
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