Duke Versus Butler Championship

Oh my....what a Championship game that was tonight. The biggest lead of the night was 6 points, and it was very early in the game. It came down to the final shot of the game with Duke winning over Butler, 61-59. The Blue Devils win their first championship since 2001 when they won in Minneapolis over Arizona.

With that, our top three pick sheets have been finalized. Congratulations goes out to Jennifer Cuddihy, one of four people to select Duke as champions, Jen had come back from way down in the rankings after the first couple days, to pull out the 2010 title. Congrats sis.

Top Three Pick Sheets

1. Jennifer Cuddihy – 142 points
2. Nick Forga – 136 points
3. Jessica McGuire – 127 points

Last Place and a free pick sheet in the 2011 contest, Anna Nelson. Anna also finished in 4th place, also with 127 points as Jessica McGuire, but lost on the 3rd tie breaker of closest to the final score of the championship game.

We Are Down To Four Teams

Well, it's been a very fun and entertaining tournament to watch this year. Sadly, there are only four teams left with three games to play. #5 Michigan State will face #5 Butler and #1 Duke will face #2 Wake Forest, with the winners of course meeting up in the Championship round.

With that, only eight tournament scenarios remain which will determine the winner for the 2010 Office Pool contest. 

1. If Michigan State beats West Virginia
2. If West Virginia beats Michigan State
3. If Michigan State beats Duke
4. If Duke beats Michigan State
5. If Butler beats West Virginia
6. If West Virginia beats Butler
7. If Butler beats Duke
8. If Duke beats Butler

Round 4 Game Results (Sat-Sun)

KEY: Not played - [number of entries selected] - Advanced - Eliminated

MIDWEST Region

5 - Michigan State [0]

6 - Tennessee [0]

WEST Region

2 - Kansas State [18]

5 - Butler [3]

EAST Region

1 - Kentucky [42]

2 - West Virginia [16]

SOUTH Region

1 - Duke [39]

3 - Baylor [5]

Round 3 Game Results (Thur-Fri)

KEY: Not played - [number of entries selected] - Advanced - Eliminated

MIDWEST Region

2 - Ohio State [39]	6 - Tennessee [3]
5 - Michigan State [0]	9 - Northern Iowa [0]

WEST Region

1 - Syracuse [51]	5 - Butler [5]
2 - Kansas State [34]	6 - Xavier [2]

EAST Region

1 - Kentucky [55]	12 - Cornell [0]
2 - West Virginia [40]	11 - Washington [1]

SOUTH Region

1 - Duke [50]	4 - Purdue [3]
3 - Baylor [23]	10 - Saint Marys (Ca.) [1]

Butler Knocks The Orange Out

First it was Northern Iowa handing Kansas Jayhawks their exit papers. Kansas was the first number one seed to be eliminated from the 2010 tournament. Tonight, Butler Bulldogs extend their winning streak to 23 games and dislodge the Syracuse Orange, the second number one seed to have an early exit. Bulldogs, moving on to found four and will play on Saturday. 34 submitted pick sheets correctly picked this game correct.

The next number one seed, Cornell versus Kentucky. With Cornell winning the Ivy League Conference the past three years, this gives them tons of experience going into tonights game. Could Kentucky be the third number one seed to have an early exit?

The Pool - A March Madness Sketch

The Pool: a March Madness Sketch

Round 2 Game Results (Sat-Sun)

KEY: Not played - [number of entries selected] Advanced - Eliminated

MIDWEST Region

1 - Kansas [61]	9 - Northern Iowa [0]
2 - Ohio State [57]	10 - Georgia Tech [1]
4 - Maryland [25]	5 - Michigan State [35]
6 - Tennessee [13	14 - Ohio [0]

WEST Region

1 - Syracuse [58]	8 - Gonzaga [2]
2 - Kansas State [51]	7 - BYU [8]
3 - Pittsburgh [40]	6 - Xavier [9]
5 - Butler [31]	13 - Murry State [6]

EAST Region

1 - Kentucky [60]	12 - Wake Forest [0]
2 - West Virginia [58]	10 - Missouri [1]
3 - New Mexico [42]	11 - Washington [3]
4 - Wisconsin [34]	12 - Cornell [3]

SOUTH Region

1 - Duke [58]	8 - California [0]
2 - Villanova [53]	10 - Saint Marys (Ca.) [2]
3 - Baylor [50]	11 - Old Dominion [1]
4 - Purdue [15]	5 - Texas A&M [37]

Round 1 Complete Results (Thur-Fri)

A quick look at what teams advanced, per region, and what teams were eliminated.

KEY: Not played - Advanced - Eliminated

MIDWEST Region

1 - Kansas	16 - Lehigh
2 - Ohio State	15 - UC Santa Barbra
3 - Georgetown	14 - Ohio
4 - Maryland	13 - Houston
5 - Michigan State	12 - New Mexico State
6 - Tennessee	11 - San Diego State
7 - Oklahoma State	10 - Georgia Tech
8 - UNLV	9 - Northern Iowa

WEST Region

1 - Syracuse	16 - Vermont
2 - Kansas State	15 - North Texas
3 - Pittsburgh	14 - Oakland
4 - Vanderbilt	13 - Murry State
5 - Butler	12 - UTEP
6 - Xavier	11 - Minnesota
7 - BYU	10 - Florida
8 - Gonzaga	9 - Florida State

EAST Region

1 - Kentucky	16 - East Tennessee State
2 - West Virginia	15 - Morgan State
3 - New Mexico	14 - Montana
4 - Wisconsin	13 - Wofford
5 - Temple	12 - Cornell
6 - Marquette	11 - Washington
7 - Clemson	10 - Missouri
8 - Texas	9 - Wake Forest

SOUTH Region

1 - Duke	16 - Play-In-Game
2 - Villanova	15 - Robert Morris
3 - Baylor	14 - Sam Houston State
4 - Purdue	13 - Siena
5 - Texas A&M	12 - Utah State
6 - Notre Dame	11 - Old Dominion
7 - Richmond	10 - Saint Marys
8 - California	9 - Louisville

Submit Your Picks In The 2010 Office Pool

Enter Your Picks Here

Make sure you hit the SUBMIT PICKS button at the bottom of the page or your picks will not be entered into the pool.

Deadline: Tip-Off, March 18 @ 12:00 PM [CMT]
Entry Fee: $10.00 per entry

NOTE: When entering multiple times, please place a number after your name to make it unique [or it will over write you last submitted picks] For example: Timmy 1, Timmy 2, Timmy 3

Welcome To The 14th Office Pool Season

I had to stop and do the math, but this is the 14th season of Steve's Office Pool. Started the first online pool back in 1997 helping out Adam Mack. That year we had a total of 18 entries. With the internet so new back in 1997, I wanted to see what this online office pool software was like. I keyed in the names, game information and winners by hand. It certainly made it easier to get the current standings out to everyone by days end.

The office pool software has evolved with the times. Now with the convenience of automatic updating, automatic website updating, automatic game updating, I hardly lift a finger. Once the tournament is underway, the software runs on autopilot throughout the tournament.

I'll be purging the outdated links to update them with the 2010 links throughout the week, just in time for Selection Sunday on March 14.

2010 Tournament Schedule

Key Tournament Dates courtesy of NCAA Sports

Pre-Tournament Events
March 14 - Selection Sunday @ 5:00 CST on CBS
March 16 - Opening Round game [play in game]

First Weekend Of Games
March 18-19: Round One Games
March 20-21: Round Two Games

Second Weekend Of Games
March 25-26: Round Three Games
March 27-28: Round Four Games

Final Weekend Of Games
April 3: Round Five, Semi-Finals
April 5: Round Six, Championship Game

2010 Automatic Bids - Conference Tournaments

Conference	Winners-Dates [record]
ACC	March 11-14
American East	Vermont Catamounts [25-9]
Atlantic Sun	E. Tennessee State Buccaneers [20-14]
Atlantic 10	March 9, 12-14
Big East	West Virginia Mountaineers [27-6]
Big Sky	Montana Grizzlies [22-9]
Big South	Winthrop Eagles [19-13]
Big Ten	March 11-14
Big 12	Kansas Jayhawks [32-2]
Big West	Santa Barbara Gauchos [20-9]
Colonial	Old Dominion Monarchs [26-8]
Conference USA	Houston Cougars [19-15]
Horizon	Butler Bulldogs[28-4]
Ivy League	Cornell Big Red [27-4]
MAAC	Sienna Saints [27-6]
MAC	Ohio Bobcats [21-14]
MEAC	Morgan State Bears [27-9]
Missouri Valley	Northern Iowa Panthers [28-4]
Mountain West	March 10-13
Northeast	Robert Morris Colonials [23-11]
Ohio Valley	Murry State Racers [30-4]
Pac-10	Washington Huskies [24-9]
Patriot	Lehigh Mountain Hawks [22-10]
SEC	March 11-14
Southern	Wofford Terriers [26-8]
Southland	San Diego State Aztecs [25-8]
Summit	Oakland Golden Grizzlies [26-8]
Sun Belt	North Texas Mean Green [24-8]
SWAC	Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions [17-15]
WAC	New Mexico State Aggies [22-11]
West Coast	St Mary's Gaels [26-5]