Leuthold Memorial Tournament - Elite Eight, Day Two

Hey all! The Elite Eight is over, and the Final Four is upon us. And what a Final Four it will be! Before we get to that, how about some standings?? (Reminder, the standings read as follows: ranking, name, total points, points this round, movement since last round and bonuses, if any, remaining)

1 Andrew Logan          1238    80             --

2 Kevin Hunt              1237    100           +6
3 Brandon Lanquist     1230    80             --
4 Eric Bookmyer         1227    80             +2
5 Jake Kempf              1224    76             --
6 Drew Curth              1222    72             -3
7 Matt Fehr                 1220    80             --
8 Kevin Faigle             1216    64             -2
9 Lauren Faine            1210    80             --
10 Matt Barnes            1203    84            +3
11 Matt Rader             1199    84             +5
12 Wells Faine             1194    72             -1
12 John Gray               1194    68             -2   (Champ – UConn)
14 John Montgomery   1193    76            +1
15 Jake Young             1192    72             -3
16 Anthony Tynan      1186    76             +1
17 Doug Steiner          1185    76             +1
18 Tony Falk               1179    60             -5
18 Rachel Hoops         1179    72            +1
20 Jeff Fitzwater          1175    84            +1
21 Mallory Myers         1165    76            +1
22 Justin Reichley        1160    64             -2
23 Bethany Green       1151    80             --
24 Anne Seiler             1140    76             --
25 Todd Schleucher    1100    72             --
26 Ryan Calhoun         1037    60             --

First, Congrats to Andrew Logan for leading during the entire Elite Eight. Possibly a bigger congrats, though, to Coach Kevin Hunt. With Kentucky as a 15 and VCU as 10 (higher than anyone else) KHunt posted a hefty 100 and sits 1 point out of the lead.

Kevin and I talked earlier and figured he would need a Kansas over Kentucky championship in order to win this tournament, but we were vastly mistaken. A VCU win over Butler in the Final Four will go a long way toward bringing Coach the title.

Not a great day for John Gray, falling out of the Top 10 only a day after getting there, but a look at his line shows that it wasn't so bad. John is the only person who can still get a bonus in this tournament, and that's with UConn as the national champion. So, John won't win without that happening, but I bet not too many people are betting against it right now.

I'm going to do a Final Four preview this week and, in that, I hope to reveal who still has a chance to win the tournament.

Leuthold Memorial Tournament - Elite Eight, Day One

We're down to six teams, and the number of people who can win this tournament probably isn't much better. I'll try to have that figured out once we're pared down to four, but for now, here are your standings. (Reminder, the order is: total points, points this round, movement since last round and bonuses, if any, still available)

1 Andrew Logan          1158    108           +3

2 Kevin Faigle             1152    108           +5   (Big Loser – Clemson)
3 Brandon Lanquist     1150    96             -2
3 Drew Curth              1150    96             -2
5 Jake Kempf              1148    96             -2
6 Eric Bookmyer         1147    100           -1
7 Matt Fehr                 1140    96             --    (Champ – Kansas, Big Loser – Clemson)
8 Kevin Hunt              1137    90             -3   (Champ – Kansas)
9 Lauren Faine            1130    96             -1
10 John Gray               1126    104           +7   (Champ – UConn)
11 Wells Faine             1122    100           +5
12 Jake Young             1120    96             +2
13 Tony Falk               1119    96             +2
13 Matt Barnes             1119   92              -1
15 John Montgomery   1117    92             -2
16 Matt Rader             1115    84             -5   (Champ – Kansas)
17 Anthony Tynan      1110    96             +4
18 Doug Steiner          1109    68             -9
19 Rachel Hoops         1107    92             --
20 Justin Reichley        1096    80             -2
21 Jeff Fitzwater          1091    76             -2
22 Mallory Myers         1089    76             --
23 Bethany Green       1071    84             +1
24 Anne Seiler             1064    72             -1
25 Todd Schleucher    1028    68             --
26 Ryan Calhoun         977      76             --

Well, it's a day I've expected for awhile now. Andrew Logan has ascended to the top of the standings. I said before the Sweet Sixteen that if the lower seeded teams won, he'd be in good shape, and Butler winning was a big boost. He also had UConn as a 15, adding to the big total.

Kevin Faigle should be feeling good, but only if Kansas isn't winning the Championship. A shot at the Big Loser is very realistic at this point, and here's how it will happen. UNC beats Kentucky, UConn beats UNC, and VCU or Butler beats UConn. That's the only road 75 points that will bring him the title

As for Matt Fehr, UNC over UK, UConn over UNC and Kansas over UConn is the road to the championship.

John Gray has another road, and it has only one path. A UConn championship will give him the tournament title. Also, congrats to him for moving inside the Top 10 for the first time in the tournament.

Kevin Hunt is the only other person who can get a bonus. He also had Kansas winning the championship, and his road to the title most likely runs through the UNC-Kentucky game. I can't say with complete certainty right now, but it looks like if Kentucky wins, Kevin will pass Matt and kill his Big Loser, changing their positions. I need to figure it out still, but Kentucky may need to beat UConn as well to keep Kevin ahead of Matt in that race. (More on this after the Sunday games)

That's all for now!

Leuthold Memorial Tournament - Sweet Sixteen, Day Two

Hey everyone! Sorry this is late. I'm not going to do a notes section since I'm at work, but I will post the standings and make a few observations. Don't worry. I'll have the updated standings up tonight after work.

Remember, the standings are ordered: total points, points for this round, movement from last round to now, and bonuses still available.

Leuthold Memorial Tournament – Sweet Sixteen, Day Two


1 Drew Curth 1054 147 --
1 Brandon Lanquist 1054 150 +3
3 Jake Kempf 1052 150 +2
4 Andrew Logan 1050 144 -2
5 Eric Bookmyer 1047 147 +1
5 Kevin Hunt 1047 162 +4 (Champ – Kansas)
7 Matt Fehr 1044 156 +1 (Champ – Kansas, Big Loser – Clemson)
7 Kevin Faigle 1044 138 -5 (Big Loser – Clemson)
9 Doug Steiner 1041 150 -2
10 Lauren Faine 1034 153 +3
11 Matt Rader 1031 147 -- (Champ – Kansas)
12 Matt Barnes 1027 156 +6
13 John Montgomery 1025 144 --
14 Jake Young 1024 141 -2
15 Tony Falk 1023 138 -6
16 Wells Faine 1022 144 --
17 John Gray 1022 141 -4 (Champ – UConn)
18 Justin Reichley 1016 141 -1
19 Rachel Hoops 1015 144 -1
19 Jeff Fitzwater 1015 150 +3
21 Anthony Tynan 1014 147 -1
22 Mallory Myers 1013 147 -1
23 Anne Seiler 992 147 --
24 Bethany Green 987 153 --
25 Todd Schleucher 960 141 --
26 Ryan Calhoun 901 138 --

Two firsts about our leader: 1. This is the first time in the tournament we've had a leader hold his lead from one day until the next. 2. This is the first time we've had a tie at the top this year.

The question?? Are the top five just sitting ducks at this point?? None can get any bonuses at this point, so they have to be cheering hard against Kansas and UConn. Also, they need to cheer for either Kentucky to advance to at least the Final Four or North Carolina to get to the Championship. If neither of those happens, Clemson will be the Big Loser, and two people picked the Tigers.

Congrats to Kevin Hunt on a huge 162 this round. He gave VCU a 10 seed and put Kentucky above Ohio State and both very much paid off for him.

I'm going to try to figure out after the Elite Eight wins, which people still have a chance to win. We'll see if I'm smart enough or motivated enough to do it.

That's all for now!

Leuthold Memorial Tournament - Sweet Sixteen, Day One

The Sweet Sixteen has arrived, and in this tournament, it was just another day for the leader to change. There's been more roll over in this tournament than November in college football. I have a few things to discuss, but first...the standings (Remember, it goes: total points, points this round, movement in the rankings, bonuses still remaining)

1 Drew Curth 907 147 +1 (Champ)

2 Kevin Faigle 906 165 +7 (Big Loser)
2 Andrew Logan 906 165 +7 (Champ)
4 Brandon Lanquist 904 156 -1 (Champ)
5 Jake Kempf 902 156 -- (Champ)
6 Eric Bookmyer 900 156 -- (Champ)
7 Doug Steiner 891 126 -6 (Champ)
8 Matt Fehr 888 156 +9 (Champ, Big Loser)
9 Tony Falk 885 153 +8 (Champ)
9 Kevin Hunt 885 138 -5 (Champ)
11 Matt Rader 884 141 -4 (Champ)
12 Jake Young 883 147 +2 (Champ)
13 John Montgomery 881 144 -2 (Champ)
13 Lauren Faine 881 144 -2
13 John Gray 881 156 +7 (Champ)
16 Wells Faine 878 141 -5
17 Justin Reichley 875 132 -10 (Champ)
18 Matt Barnes 871 138 -2 (Champ)
18 Rachel Hoops 871 147 -3 (Champ)
20 Anthony Tynan 867 135 -3
21 Mallory Myers 866 147 -1 (Champ)
22 Jeff Fitzwater 865 129 -8 (Champ)
23 Anne Seiler 845 129 --
24 Bethany Green 834 126 -- (Champ)
25 Todd Schleucher 819 120 -- (Champ)
26 Ryan Calhoun 763 87 -- (Champ)

Okay, on to the analysis. Let's start with our new leader. I said Drew Curth could easily take over the lead, and he did, by the slimmest of margins.

I also said, Andrew Logan could make a big run toward the top if his lower seeded teams won. He lost an 11, a 14 and 2-16's and kept a 12, 13 and 2-15's...a difference of only 6 points, but it was his ordering that did it. The scary thing...a BYU win (he had the Cougars as a 16) likely would've given him the lead without problem because he was the only one to have them at that level.

Here's the thing to look out for. Logan and Kevin Faigle have been in about the same position most of the tournament. Their trend so far is to climb the rankings the first day of a round and fall back down on the second day. Does either one have the staying power this time around?? We'll see.

I wasn't completely right. I mentioned in the Sweet 16 preview that John Gray would be one of the players that probably wouldn't move much in this round. After a round of 156 points tonight, Gray is up 7 slots to a tournament-best 13th. Most importantly, as the only person to have UConn as his champion, if he can stay anywhere near where he is now, he could win the tournament with a Huskies championship.

Speaking of the championship, the West Region was unkind tonight. Four people lost their championship and most likely their chance to win the tournament, when Duke and SDSU went down.

As for the rest, 17 have Ohio State, 3 (Fehr, Rader, Hunt) have Kansas and Gray is tied to UConn.

One more bonus mention...Faigle and Fehr both still have Clemson as their Big Loser. Ohio State will need to lose to Kentucky to keep that possible.

That's all for now. Thanks for your loyalty!

Leuthold Memorial Tournament - Sweet Sixteen Preview

The Sweet Sixteen is upon us, leaving us dominant squads like Ohio State and Kansas (or Captain America and Batman as my boy John Gray would say), and surprises like the Richmond duo.

We've definitely had our ups and downs in this tournament this year with many firsts in the bunch. This is the first season the leader has changed everyday during the first two rounds, the first time no person has had the top four in every bracket still remaining and the first time no one has correctly chosen an Upset Special.

It all adds to the excitement, though, I think. And the excitement continues with the final 16. So, here's a breakdown of what could happen in the next two days.

1. The Rich Get Richer: Our current leader, Doug Steiner, could increase his margin from five to more than 30 points if his top teams (OSU, UNC, Kansas, Florida State, Duke, SDSU, Wisconsin and BYU) come home with wins. He's actually set up very well if his picks are accurate because Wisconsin (16), BYU (14), Florida State (11) and SDSU (16) are higher than most others picked them.

2. Go Aztecs: Not only will SDSU winning help Steiner, it could carry Anne Seiler all the way to the title if she hangs around well enough. She picked the Aztecs to take the title, and this round is where she could see herself start climbing the polls. Sitting in the 20's most of the tournament, getting her optimal picks in the next two days could put her in the teens and within striking distance.

3. Beauty of this Tournament: Sometimes, having your top ranked teams win isn't the best way to climb the standings. Andrew Logan could  be the poster child of this in the next two days. If he gets his optimal picks, he might drop 4 or 5 spots into the teens. Meanwhile, if all of his lowest picks get wins, the points might vault him all the way to second place. I say, that's the beauty of this tournament

4. Possible Takeovers: There aren't many threats for the top spot right now, but No. 2 Drew Curth is one. He was the champion two years ago, and there are multiple ways he could take the lead this round. UConn, Florida and Butler wins would go a long way toward making that happen.

5. Going through the Motions: There are a few that are pretty locked into their spots right now. Matt Barnes (16), John Gray (20), Rachel Hoops (21) and Ryan Calhoun (26) won't see much, if any, movement in this round. Not to say they can't move up at some point, but it won't happen now.

That's all for now. I hope you'll come back very late tonight/tomorrow for an update on what's going on and to see if anything I've said is actually playing out.

Leuthold Tournament - Round Two Notes

Here are some interesting notes after Round Two.

Easiest region to pick: West (110.6 out of 116 possible per person)
Hardest region to pick: Southwest (73.8 out of 116)
Highest seed eliminated: Pittsburgh (15.42)
Lowest seed still playing: VCU (5.65)
Team giving the most points: Ohio State (820, 31.54 per person)
Team giving the least points: VCU (147, or 5.65)

There were four (4) perfect regions...Kevin Faigle, Matt Fehr, Eric Bookmyer and Andrew Logan all had the top four teams in the West region.
Two (2) people can still correctly pick the Big Loser. Kevin Faigle and Matt Fehr both have Clemson, meaning Kentucky would need to beat Ohio State in the Sweet 16, ruining 17 people's champion pick.

25 out of 26 competitors still have their champion pick. Kevin Faigle lost his with Pitt's loss to Butler.

Four (4) people have all four 16 seeds remaining (Brandon Lanquist, Andrew Logan, Doug Steiner, Jake Kempf)

A couple interesting notes about the tournament...
-There are as many teams from Richmond, VA (VCU, Richmond) left in the tournament as there are Big East teams (UConn, Marquette).
-If VCU and Florida State get wins in the Sweet Sixteen, it sets up the first 10 vs. 11 match in NCAA Tournament history.

A random Ohio University related tournament note...
-Ohio and Old Dominion are the only two (2) teams in NCAA history to get a win in all four college basketball tournaments (NCAA, NIT, CBI, CIT)

Leuthold Memorial Tournament - Round Two, Day Two

Well, upsets all over the board made for yet another interesting round and a lot of movement once again. As always, total score is first, followed by score for this round, movement since last update and then bonuses that person is still eligible for. Without further ado...

1 Doug Steiner 765 204 +6 (Champ)

2 Drew Curth 760 194 -- (Champ)
3 Brandon Lanquist 748 184 +2 (Champ)
4 Kevin Hunt 747 196 +6 (Champ)
5 Jake Kempf 746 182 -- (Champ)
6 Eric Bookmyer 744 196 +6 (Champ) Perfect West
7 Matt Rader 743 200 +10 (Champ)
7 Justin Reichley 743 194 -4 (Champ)
9 Kevin Faigle 741 176 -6 (Big Loser) Perfect West
9 Andrew Logan 741 176 -6 (Champ) Perfect West
11 Wells Faine 737 168 -10 (Champ)
11 John Montgomery 737 184 -3 (Champ)
11 Lauren Faine 737 184 -3 (Champ)
14 Jake Young 736 192 +1 (Champ)
14 Jeff Fitzwater 736 190 -- (Champ)
16 Matt Barnes 733 194 +3 (Champ)
17 Tony Falk 732 184 -5 (Champ)
17 Matt Fehr 732 188 -2 (Champ, Big Loser) Perfect West
17 Anthony Tynan 732 190 +1 (Champ)
20 John Gray 725 192 +1 (Champ)
21 Rachel Hoops 724 188 -1 (Champ)
22 Mallory Myers 719 192 +1 (Champ)
23 Anne Seiler 716 186 -1 (Champ)
24 Bethany Green 708 188 -- (Champ)
25 Todd Schleucher 699 182 -- (Champ)
26 Ryan Calhoun 676 164 -- (Champ)

Doug Steiner hits the top of the rankings for the first time in a couple years. Three years ago, he was a Memphis championship win away from taking home the title, and now he's labeled himself a serious contender once again.

Tough day for yesterday's leader, Wells Faine. Low scores for multiple teams left him 10 spots down the rankings, tied with his sister.

Every person still has a chance to get a bonus, and Matt Fehr is the only one who can get both the champion and big loser.

Kevin Faigle is the only one who can't get the champion, but he can still get the big loser.