March Madness: The Last Perfect Bracket Busted

According to Chicago’s ABC 7, the last perfect bracket among NCAA Tournament fans was busted Thursday.

Gregg Nigl, a 40-year-old neuropsychologist from Ohio, created the bracket on NCAA.com. 

My brackets were nuked early on, but I had Duke advancing through the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 and, of course, to the National Championship.

Nigl didn't even realize his bracket was still intact on Tuesday, having correctly predicted the outcome of all 48 games that had been played so far.  Nigl even changed his Twitter handle to Gregg “Perfect Bracket” Nigl.  Mr. Perfect is no more after Purdue’s overtime win over the Vols.

Well, it was a good run... Thank you to everyone who joined me along this incredible journey! Maybe next year we'll get it!

— Gregg 'Perfect Bracket' Nigl (@GreggNigl) March 29, 2019

Purdue had a commanding lead throughout most of the game and was leading by 18 in the second half before the Vols went on a 32-14 run to tie the game at 65 with six minutes left to play.

The pivotal moment in the game came with 10 seconds left.  With the Vols up 82-80, Purdue moved the ball into the corner passing to Carsen Edwards.  Had he not missed the three-pointer the game would have been over.

Tennessee’s Lamonte Turner allegedly fouled Edwards.  The call was controversial.  Edwards’ heels were on the line when he attempted that shot.  The refs declared Turner had contact with Edwards’ hip.

Thanks to the new PI review rules, this “foul” call with 1.7 seconds left would be overturned in the NFL pic.twitter.com/NU6Jz8Gb2W

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 29, 2019

The foul sent Edwards to the charity stripe allowing Purdue to tie the game and send the game into overtime with the final score of 99-94.

Saturday’s games:

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Gonzaga 6:09 PM, TBS

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 1 Virginia 8:49 PM, TBS

Sunday’s games:

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Michigan State 5:05 PM, CBS

No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 2 Kentucky 2:20 PM, CBS

Spartans Head coach Tom Izzo hopes his team has the same success against Duke as they did against LSU, but that will only happen if they can come up with a robust defense to control Zion “Thunder Dunk” Williamson and R. J. “Maple Mamba” Barrett.

Williamson was incredible against the Hokies, this time finishing with 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting. The biggest story might have been the hot shooting of teammate Tre Jones, who hit five three-pointers after never making more than two in one game all season. R.J. Barrett was also phenomenal, adding 18 points and 11 assists in the win. Duke will continue to be a favorite throughout this tournament because Williamson is by far the best player in the country. 

CFB Semi-Final Playoff: Alabama Crimson Tide Vs Michigan State Spartans

No. 2 Alabama is a 10-point favorite over No. 3 Michigan State in tonight’s Goodyear Cotton Bowl, the nightcap of the College Football Playoff doubleheader on ESPN.

Some dude named Stewart Mandel, a college football writer for Fox Sports, seems to have gotten his knickers in a wad because “the powers that be at the playoff kowtowed to the Rose and Sugar Bowls and exiled the semifinals to New Year’s Eve.”

He even took to his Twitter account asking his followers if their plans for New Year’s Eve would keep them from watching one or both of the semi-final games being played today.  The results were less than compelling.  Of the 5,443 people who responded, 35% said their plans would indeed interfere with watching the game.  I have to say that there are enough people out there who have the ability to simultaneously ring in the New Year and watch their beloved team on TV.  Some are even lucky enough to make the trip to Arlington, TX and Miami to see the game in person. 

When the BCS was ditched and replaced with the CFB, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bpwl were essentially kicked to the curb.  Let them have their little “tradition”.

As a rabid Alabama Crimson Tide fan, I can think of no better way to ring in the New Year than by watching my beloved Bama boys take on the Spartans of Michigan State.  I get that the Rose Bowl, dubbed the “Granddaddy of them all”, has a 100-year-old tradition complete with a parade before the game.  I have no problem with the Rose and Sugar Bowls retaining their “place of honor” on New Year’s Day.

Not everybody wants to dress up and go out to ring in the New Year.  Like many others, we here at Casa de Curmudgeon, have planned a yuuuuuuge college football party replete with decorations that just ooze Bama Nation team spirit, all the traditional “tailgate” food and drink and three widescreen TVs so that everybody can watch the game in comfort.  Celebrating beating Michigan State while ringing in 2016 with friends is most excellent if you ask me.

The dynasty at Alabama is not dead and tonight Bama is going to prove it.  There’s no need to quote stats or repeat what Coach Saban or Coach Dantonio said in their press conferences this week.  What matters is the heart and courage of the team that wants to win a national championship the most.

Alabama has the best defense in the country and 15 national championships in its storied history.  The Tide has reached the BCS Championship game or a CFB playoff semifinal five times in seven seasons.  That is the epitome of dominance.

I disagree with those who claim Michigan State advanced to the semi-finals solely due to a flagging Ohio State.

All four teams—Clemson, Oklahoma, Michigan State and Alabama—fought bloody battles during the regular season and deserve the pedestal upon which they have been placed.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Duke Vs Michigan State

No. 4 Duke meets No.19 Michigan State tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.  Tipoff is 7:00 PM ET and can be seen on ESPN.

The Champions Classic, in its fourth year, is a non-conference outing.  This will be Coach K’s ninth face-off against MSU’s Tom Izzo.  Krzyzewski’s .763% W-L (985-306) career record is just a skosh better than Izzo’s .715% W-L (469-187) record.

Although Duke had an easy time of it against Presbyterian and Fairfield, the Spartans have talent they can put on the floor. 

The Detroit Free Press noted that no one is picking the Spartans to win tonight and took a little dig at my boys saying, “The young Blue Devils know nothing but Cameron Indoor Stadium blowouts, filled with dunks and wide-open three-pointers. If MSU can land an early punch, it could resonate.”  O RLY?

GO DUKE!

UPDATE:  Duke wins 81-71