After plenty of madness to go around, the dust has settled on the Cougar Daily March Madness Bracket Challenge. Emerging victorious- controversially- for the second time in the competitions three year existence was history teacher Mr. Kane. Mr. Kane may or may not have won the 2016 Bracket Challenge because of the true winner’s late bracket turn-in. Either way, Mr. Kane is proud of his nearly 20 point victory over the field, and his rise from the back of the pack to victory. He proudly stated after hearing of his win that he has “proven [his] worth,” and that his win was “an affirmation of [his] knowledge of sports.”

For those who landed somewhere beneath Mr. Kane in the standings, sophomores achieved a small victory in the Cougar Daily March Madness Bracket Challenge, as they had the greatest average number of points per submittee, earning an average of 87.66 points. Juniors were second best, averaging 75 points per bracket, then the staff challengers, with 68.6 points average, then, last, but not least, the seniors, with 54.125 points per bracket.

The Cougars, overall, were adept at picking the winner this year in comparison to the rest of the nation: A whopping 27.27% of Cougars chose Villanova to win the ‘ship, while only 2.56% of the rest of bracket-submittees across the country correctly picked the Wildcats.

In reflection, this National Championship tournament was definitely a barn-burner (and a bracket-burner for some folks). 2018 March Madness was an extremely exciting experience filled with upsets, nuns, and of course, the dominance of the Villanova Wildcats.

Thanks for participating!

Final Standings:

First: Mr. Kane, Villanova, 131 points.

Second: Bethany Heitland, Villanova, 112 points.

Third: Becca Rugg, Villanova, 107 points; Bryce Van Caster, Villanova, 107 points.

Fifth: Grace Abernethy, Villanova, 101 points.

Sixth: Andrew Hill, Villanova, 94 points.

Seventh: Roman Sorrels, Michigan, 89 points.

Eighth: Jaelyn Hershberger, Kansas, 75 points.

Ninth: Wade Rahaman, Arizona, 72 points.

Tenth: Mr. Stoughton, North Carolina, 63 points.

Eleventh: Maddy Morland, Virginia, 62 points.

Twelfth: Mrs. Landolfi, Duke, 60 points.

Thirteenth: Kayla Garcia, Kansas, 58 points.

Fourteenth: Alex Costa, Duke, 55 points.

Fifteenth: Ashlynn Garcia, Arizona, 54 points.

Sixteenth: Mr. Thomas, Virginia, 47 points.

Seventeenth: Isabella Janney, Virginia, 43 points; Ashton Rogers, North Carolina, 43 points.

Eighteenth: Mr. Loeper, Xavier, 42 points.

Nineteenth: Lindsey Murray, Duke, 41 points; Abby Smith, Gonzaga, 41 points.

Twenty first: Maya Glaser, Oklahoma, 35 points.

Twenty second: Joshua Sun, North Carolina, 32 points.