Jake Davidson

Managing Editor

Entering the NCAA tournament this year, the 2010-2011 college basketball season was defined by one word: Mediocrity. The #1 ranking was constantly in flux, with four teams holding that title throughout the season. Entering the tournament, the general consensus was that this was the weakest field in recent years, and that the one seeds would coast to the Final Four. This assumption by 8 of the 16 analysts on ESPN could not have been more wrong. For the first time in history no one or two seed was able to advance to the Final Four. Instead the four teams traveling to Houston are a three seed, (Connecticut) a four seed, (Kentucky), an eight seed, (Butler) and an eleven seed (VCU). While the season may have been defined by mediocrity, the tournament was anything but, with all four elite eight games going down to the wire. The storylines were great: two bluebloods battling it out (Kentucky and Connecticut), Butler making an improbable return to the pinnacle of this sport, and VCU going from the first four to Houston. My hope for this weekend is that Kentucky beats Connecticut and Butler beats VCU, setting up a great matchup in the final.

On the other hand, the Milken expert’s bracket was destroyed this past weekend with no person correctly picking any final four teams. These are the final standings; as this weekend’s game do not affect the scoring system. Rabbi Hoffman retained his first place position, winning the first annual Roar bracket!

The scoring system:

First Round: 1 point

Second Round: 2 points

Sweet 16: 4 points

Elite 8: 8 points

Final 4: 16 points

Final: 32 points

The standings:

Hoffman: 59

Davidson: 54

Bloom: 52

Senet: 51

Whiting: 47

Friedman: 47

Kessler: 46

Lindsay: 40