March Madness is officially here. And with it, the return of the Bucket Squad Sports Reports Mega March Madness Matchup Monstrosity for the third consecutive year. And the field for our bracket challenge is the biggest its ever been as BSSR's reach has exploded across the internet.
Before we get into the BSSRMMMMM leaderboard, I'll give a quick breakdown of yesterday's games. But if you only care about where you stand in the race for $100, you can scroll to the end.
For the most part, the higher seeds took care of business in the NCAA Tournament's opening day. All of the 1- and 2-seeds rolled over their opponents, which included (1) North Carolina, (2) Arizona, (2) Iowa State, and (2) Tennessee.
Other favorites who made it into the Round of 32 without much struggle include (3) Creighton, (3) Illinois, and (5) Gonzaga. The three 7-seeds in play yesterday, Dayton, Texas, and Washington State prevailed despite heavy upset predictions against them. Dayton's win was the most exciting of the three, as they finished the game on a 24-4 run to overcome a 17-point deficit. The most shocking upset that has already busted many brackets was (14) Oakland's tight win over (3) Kentucky. Oakland's Jack Gohlke led the way with 10 made threes as the team combined to shoot nearly 50 percent behind the arc. Kentucky's shoddy defense was exposed and their freshmen failed to live up to the moment. The Wildcats have now won only one NCAA tournament game in the last four seasons, and John Calipari's seat has never been hotter. Three 11-seeds also pulled off big upsets to advance to the second round. Duquesne toppled BYU for the day's first big upset in early window. The Cougars told the NCAA that they could not play on Sundays for religious reasons, and they made it clear that they can also not play on Thursdays come tournament time. Oregon and NC State both claimed emphatic wins over South Carolina and Texas Tech, respectively, to secure the daily sweep for the 11-seeds. Finally, the most controversial ending came late at night in the (4) Kansas / (13) Samford game. Samford, a common underdog pick, stormed back from a 22-point second half deficit to pull within one point in the final 30 seconds. But an objectively horrible foul was called on a Bulldog as Kansas' Nicolas Timberlake was going up for a dunk. Instead of having the ball down one with around 15 seconds left, Kansas made their two free throws and were able to hold on to the lead to survive and advance. With that, we have half of the Round of 32 set, with the remainder to be decided in the 16 games on Friday. We're sure to be in for another day of chaos in the second day of the first round of action. The Mega March Madness Matchup Monstrosity is still wide open, as only four brackets lost a Final Four team after the first day. Everyone's champion is still alive, so anyone can still take home the grand prize. Remember to check back here following each day of games as I provide updates on the tournament and the leaderboard. Here's the full BSSRMMMMM leaderboard after the opening day of the tournament: 1. Free money (130 points)
T2. okaymason (120 points)
T2. WhoisMicah? (120 points)
T4. CM's picks (110 points)
T4. Go Vols? (110 points)
T4. LOVER BOY (110 points)
T4. Pre-Wife Power (110 points)
T8. Drew's (100 points)
T8. McInItToWinIt (100 points)
T8. Trizzy Tre (100 points)
T8. Lincoln Bernhard (100 points)
T8. Tip in (100 points)
T8. The Feminist Movement (100 points)
T14. ajk1 (90 points)
T14. Swatson (90 points)
T14. Scorched Earth Theory (90 points)
T17. Andrew's 2 Time Champ (80 points)
T17. Barbie Dream Bracket (80 points)
19. Natasha (70 points)
20. Bad Logos (60 points)
Check back tomorrow to see where you stand after the first round is completely in the books. ​Written by Nick Swatson
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