{"id":11213,"date":"2011-03-15T07:00:01","date_gmt":"2011-03-15T07:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/2011\/03\/15\/raymonds-highly-scientific-predictions-for-the-2011-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament\/"},"modified":"2011-03-15T07:00:01","modified_gmt":"2011-03-15T07:00:01","slug":"raymonds-highly-scientific-predictions-for-the-2011-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/20110315-01\/?p=11213","title":{"rendered":"Raymond&#039;s highly scientific predictions for the 2011 NCAA men&#039;s basketball tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Once again, it&#8217;s time for Raymond to come up with an <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.msdn.com\/b\/oldnewthing\/archive\/2010\/03\/16\/9979236.aspx\"> absurd<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.msdn.com\/oldnewthing\/archive\/2009\/03\/18\/9485231.aspx\"> arbitrary<\/a> criterion for filling out his NCAA bracket.\n This year, I look at the strength of the school&#8217;s football team, on the theory that a school with a strong football team and a strong basketball team has clearly invested a lot in its athletics program. My ranking of football teams is about as scientific as my ranking of basketball teams:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>     If the school ended last season with a BCS ranking, I used that. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school wasn&#8217;t ranked     but received votes in the AP     ranking, then I gave it a rank of 30     (and if two such schools faced each other,     I looked at who got more votes). <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked,     then I looked to see if it had been ranked at any time earlier     in the season; if so, then I gave it a rank of 40. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked,     but it appeared on the     equally-scientific     <a href=\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/college-football\/rankings\">     ESPN Fan Rankings<\/a>,     then I gave it a rank of 50. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked,     but it has a Division&nbsp;I&nbsp;FBS football team,     then I gave it a rank of 80.     If two such schools faced each other, then I gave what appeared to be     the weaker school a rank of 90. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked,     but it has a Division&nbsp;I&nbsp;FCS football team,     then I gave it a rank of 100.     If two such schools faced each other, then I gave what appeared to be     the weaker schools a rank of 101.     (Why 101 instead of 110?     Who cares!) <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked,     but it has a football team in some other division,     then I gave it a rank of 150. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked because its football team is new,     then I gave it a rank of 200. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked because it doesn&#8217;t have a football     team, but it had one in the past,     then I gave it a rank of 300. <\/li>\n<li>     If a school still isn&#8217;t ranked because it never had a football team,     then I gave it a rank of 400. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (As a special case, USC received its rank of 22 from two years ago, because it was forced to sit out the 2010 season as part of its punishment for &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikinews.org\/wiki\/NCAA_Football:_USC_banned_from_bowl_games_for_two_seasons,_wins_vacated\">several major rules violations<\/a>.&#8221; Now <i>that&#8217;s<\/i> what I call dedication to athletics!)\n I made up all these rules on the fly, which is why the spacing is so uneven and why they were not necessarily applied fairly across the board, but that&#8217;s what makes it <i>highly scientific<\/i>.\n As before, once the field has been narrowed to eight teams, the results are determined <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/sports\/college\/ct-spt-0314-ncaa-seeds-professor-illinois20100313,0,3088174.story\"> by a coin flip<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <b>Update<\/b>: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Correct predictions are in green. <\/li>\n<li>Incorrect predictions are in red. <\/li>\n<li>(!) marks upsets correctly predicted. <\/li>\n<li>(*) marks upsets predicted but did not take place. <\/li>\n<li>(x) marks actual upsets not predicted. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table border=\"0\" style=\"font-size: 60%\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><\/p>\n<h4>Opening Round Games<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Texas-San Antonio<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(200)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\">Alabama State<br \/>(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Alabama State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>UAB<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\">Clemson<br \/>(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Clemson<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>UNC-Asheville<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(400)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\">Arkansas-Little Rock<br \/>(300)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Arkansas-Little Rock<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(300)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>USC<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(22*)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\">USC<br \/>(22*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>VCU<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(400)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><\/p>\n<h4>East bracket<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">1<\/td>\n<td>Ohio State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(6)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Ohio State<br \/>(6)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Ohio State<br \/>(6)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Ohio State<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"23\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Ohio State<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">16<\/td>\n<td>Alabama State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">8<\/td>\n<td>George Mason<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(400)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Villanova<br \/>(100) (*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">9<\/td>\n<td>Villanova<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">5<\/td>\n<td>Kentucky<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Kentucky<br \/>(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">West Virginia<br \/>(30) (*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">12<\/td>\n<td>Princeton<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">4<\/td>\n<td>West Virginia<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">West Virginia<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">13<\/td>\n<td>Clemson<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">6<\/td>\n<td>Syracuse<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Syracuse<br \/>(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Syracuse<br \/>(80) (x)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Washington<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">11<\/td>\n<td>Indiana State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">3<\/td>\n<td>Xavier<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(300)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Xavier<br \/>(300) (x)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">14<\/td>\n<td>Marquette<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(310)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">7<\/td>\n<td>Washington<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Washington<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Washington<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">10<\/td>\n<td>Georgia<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(50)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">2<\/td>\n<td>North Carolina<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(50)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">North Carolina<br \/>(50)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">15<\/td>\n<td>Long Island<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(400)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><\/p>\n<h4>West bracket<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">1<\/td>\n<td>Duke<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Duke<br \/>(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan<br \/>(80) (x)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Arizona<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"23\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Arizona<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">16<\/td>\n<td>Hampton<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">8<\/td>\n<td>Michigan<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Michigan<br \/>(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">9<\/td>\n<td>Tennessee<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">5<\/td>\n<td>Texas<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(40)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Texas<br \/>(40)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Arizona<br \/>(40)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">12<\/td>\n<td>Oakland<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(400)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">4<\/td>\n<td>Arizona<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(40)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Arizona<br \/>(40)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">13<\/td>\n<td>Memphis<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">6<\/td>\n<td>Connecticut<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Connecticut<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Missouri<br \/>(12) (*)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Missouri<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">11<\/td>\n<td>Bucknell<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">3<\/td>\n<td>Cincinnati<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Missouri<br \/>(12) (*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">14<\/td>\n<td>Missouri<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(12)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">7<\/td>\n<td>Temple<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Penn State<br \/>(40) (*)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">San Diego State<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">10<\/td>\n<td>Penn State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(40)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">2<\/td>\n<td>San Diego State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">San Diego State<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">15<\/td>\n<td>Northern Colorado<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(200)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><\/p>\n<h4>Southeast bracket<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">1<\/td>\n<td>Pittsburgh<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Pittsburgh<br \/>(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Pittsburgh<br \/>(80) (x)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Wisconsin<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"23\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan State<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">16<\/td>\n<td>Arkansas-Little Rock<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(300)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">8<\/td>\n<td>Butler<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Butler<br \/>(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">9<\/td>\n<td>Old Dominion<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(101)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">5<\/td>\n<td>Wisconsin<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(4)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Wisconsin<br \/>(4)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Wisconsin<br \/>(4)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">12<\/td>\n<td>Belmont<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(150)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">4<\/td>\n<td>Kansas State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(40)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Kansas State<br \/>(40)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">13<\/td>\n<td>Utah State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">6<\/td>\n<td>BYU<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(39)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">BYU<br \/>(39)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">BYU<br \/>(39)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan State<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">11<\/td>\n<td>Wofford<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">3<\/td>\n<td>St. John&#8217;s<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(200)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">St. John&#8217;s<br \/>(200) (x)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">14<\/td>\n<td>Gonzaga<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(300)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">7<\/td>\n<td>UCLA<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan State<br \/>(7) (*)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan State<br \/>(7)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">10<\/td>\n<td>Michigan State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(7)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">2<\/td>\n<td>Florida<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Florida<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">15<\/td>\n<td>UCSB<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(400)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><\/p>\n<h4>Southwest bracket<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">1<\/td>\n<td>Kansas<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Kansas<br \/>(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Illinois<br \/>(80) (*)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Illinois<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"23\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Texas A&amp;M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">16<\/td>\n<td>Boston University<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(300)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">8<\/td>\n<td>UNLV<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Illinois<br \/>(80) (!)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">9<\/td>\n<td>Illinois<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">5<\/td>\n<td>Louisville<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(82)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Louisville<br \/>(82) (x)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Louisville<br \/>(82)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">12<\/td>\n<td>Morehead State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">4<\/td>\n<td>Vanderbilt<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Vanderbilt<br \/>(90) (x)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">13<\/td>\n<td>Richmond<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(91)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">6<\/td>\n<td>Purdue<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Purdue<br \/>(90)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"ff99cc\">USC<br \/>(22*)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"11\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"ff99cc\">Texas A&amp;M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">11<\/td>\n<td>Saint Peter&#8217;s<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(300)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">3<\/td>\n<td>Georgetown<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(100)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">USC<br \/>(22*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">14<\/td>\n<td>USC<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(22*)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">7<\/td>\n<td>Texas A&amp;M<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(18)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Texas A&amp;M<br \/>(18) (x)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Texas A&amp;M<br \/>(18)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">10<\/td>\n<td>Florida State<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(23)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">2<\/td>\n<td>Notre Dame<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(30)<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ccffcc\">Notre Dame<br \/>(30)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"right\">15<\/td>\n<td>Akron<\/td>\n<td align=\"right\">(80)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"7\"><\/p>\n<h4>Finals<\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Ohio State<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Ohio State<\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"5\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan State<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Arizona<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Michigan State<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<td valign=\"CENTER\" rowspan=\"2\" style=\"border-left: solid black .75pt;padding-left: 1ex\" bgcolor=\"#ff99cc\">Michigan State<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Texas A&amp;M<\/td>\n<td><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td height=\"5\"><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once again, it&#8217;s time for Raymond to come up with an absurd, arbitrary criterion for filling out his NCAA bracket. This year, I look at the strength of the school&#8217;s football team, on the theory that a school with a strong football team and a strong basketball team has clearly invested a lot in its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1069,"featured_media":111744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[107,103],"class_list":["post-11213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oldnewthing","tag-highly-scientific","tag-non-computer"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"<p>Once again, it&#8217;s time for Raymond to come up with an absurd, arbitrary criterion for filling out his NCAA bracket. This year, I look at the strength of the school&#8217;s football team, on the theory that a school with a strong football team and a strong basketball team has clearly invested a lot in its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1069"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/oldnewthing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}