Good morning Bracket Busters
I’ll be honest, some days are harder than others to muster up the energy and bring the March Madness enthusiasm that Bracket Busters delivers. If rage and anger were a currency, I’d be on my own island this morning. Not the Epstein-kind. Those are reserved for Hollywood elites and University of Michigan coaching staff. But the show must go on, and I look to those wiser than I for inspiration. So as Emperor Palpatine once said, “Good. Use your aggressive feelings. Let the hate flow through you.” And so it shall be.
The Highlights (and Heartbreaks) from Day 2 of the Elite 8
Voluntarily Scalped I never thought I would see CBS air a public execution on national television, but that’s exactly what we witnessed Sunday afternoon. The Wolverines came to conquer, and that’s exactly what they’ve done since losing to Purdue in the Big 10 tournament. Michigan has scored 90+ in each of their first four games in this year’s tourney, outscoring opponents by an average of 22.5 points. Up by as many as 34 yesterday against No. 6 Tennessee, Michigan was able to clear the bench early and let the reserves have a turn at kicking the injured children from Knoxville. With gleeful delight in their dark-beady eyes, the Viking crew from Ann Arbor will continue its murderous rampage into the Final Four. Michigan cuts down the nets as this year’s Midwest Regional Champs with an epic beatdown of Tennessee, 95-62.
Generational Collapse I would rather perform my own cataract surgery with a rusty pocket knife then have to do a write-up on the Duke / UConn game. Happiness and joy turned to rage-filled anger and shock within mere minutes. For those who missed it (which seems impossible as it’s garnering every headline on every major sports outlet in the country), Duke controlled the East Regional finals for 39 minutes and 54 seconds, up by as many as 19 at one point. No 1 seeds were 134-0 when leading by at least 15 in any game in NCAA history. And after allowing the Huskies to storm back to within 2, all the Blue Devils had to do was hold onto the ball in the final 10 seconds. When Cayden Boozer got the ball at midcourt, he had several choices of what to do. Keep it and get fouled. After all, he was 6-6 from the line up to that point. Call a timeout and figure out how to get the ball in someone else’s hands. Throw the ball up in the air and let time expire. Give it back to his brother, the front-runner for the Naismith Player of the Year. Nope, not of these options made it from his ping-pong ball lottery cage brain. The one that did make it through? Throw up a weak, bad pass that would be intercepted by the Huskies and let Chris Mullins’ son attempt a half court 3 to win the game. And just like that, one man destroyed his family name in the halls of Cameron Indoor Stadium for eternity.
This is the second year in a row that coach Jon Scheyer has presided over an epic collapse by the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. Last year against Houston they led by six with 1:14 to play, and now the 2026 shocker of the tournament. Both while having the #1 player in the country. His final thoughts on the game? “I don’t have the words.” Clearly. “Hold the ball!” would’ve been an appropriate choice. Seriously…FML.
Congrats to Bobby Hurley’s less-talented, follically-challenged brother. UConn continues its recent dominance and will look to add its 3rd championship banner in the last 4 years. The Huskies are headed to Indianapolis with a shocking 73-72 victory over the Blue Devils.
Standings Update Through the Elite 8 Dan Vagle and Erich Achtmann remain the top dogs through the end of the Elite 8 and are now being chased by Kyle Hendrickson who rose up to 3rd place with a pair of correct picks on Sunday (I’m going to let that one slide Kyle). Julie & Boggs are right behind them, and those who have UConn and/or Illinois on the final line are hoping for a late surge to capture their glory. Saturday night’s Final Four games are worth 13 points each, so it’s very much anyone’s game heading into championship weekend. Good luck to all!
Blue List Reminder
It’s the last few days to get off the Blue List. Entry fees are due no later than Friday, April 3. As it states in Section VII of the Bracket Busters Constitution, payment must be received by the due date to be eligible for any cash prizes. Otherwise, we skip over you and go to the next deserving participant. I have confidence in you good people to get it done. Payment options below.
- Zelle – cdhen14@gmail.com or (317) 364-9130
Have a great week everyone!
Chris H
Bracket Busters HQ