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Welcome back to your favorite annual NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament pool, the world-renowned Jellybean Pool! Hope has been restored as we take another chance of making that perfect bracket and forget all of the missed upsets, bracket-killing losses, and near misses from last year. Like they say, until the games start, everyone has a perfect bracket! There are no major changes to the pool this year other than there is no limit to how many brackets you submit (as long as you pay for all of them). Feel free to create a full progeny of brackets in the hopes that maybe one of them will not be a mess (also known as the Nic Cannon or Elon Musk strategy).

It's a tight field this year. The East looks absolutely brutal. I don't think that the Committee did Duke any favors by placing them there. The #11 First Four games are tough to call. Miami (OH) gets no respect; they lose only 1 game this season and don't even get a guaranteed spot in the field of 64. My fellow St. Joe's alums and I can tell you that we've been there, and it can light a fire in the team. There are guaranteed to be some upsets. Remember that picking upset wins can net you bonus points, and that can mean the difference between collecting a pile of jellybeans at the end of the tournament or being on the outside looking it.

We have never had a repeat winner or ever even anyone coming close. Ty Basenback was last year's winner, so let's see if he can figure out the secret 2 years in a row. Best of luck to those of you that finished at the bottom of the leaderboard last year. Whatever strategy you used last year - don't use it again. I won't name names, but you know who you are. Some of you will just go by the rankings (the committee knows what they are doing strategy). There has never been a year with zero upsets. Some of you will do countless hours of research looking at every variable imaginable including number of seniors, closeness to home, barometric pressure, and phases of the moon (the I have time on my hands strategy). Sometimes that works; sometimes it doesn't. Just ask Ed Eaton. Some will just pick based on how much they like/dislike a team personally (the I probably am a Duke or UNC fan strategy). Don't let your heart get in the way of common sense. Some may even make choices based on team colors, mascots, or relation to movies (the diva or 4-year old princess strategy). No matter how you do it, your chances of winning are probably not all that different. Good luck to everyone!

It is also worth mentioning that there is lots of room for the pool to grow. More players mean more jellybeans. Please feel free to pass the link for the pool on to any friends, family, or co-workers that you feel would be interested as long as they are not involved with any government agencies that have a thing against jellybeans.

3/21/26

It's the first update of the year for the pool. The first round displayed the things that we love about this first week - upsets, overtimes, close games, and some great basketball. There were even teeth lost. All #9 teams won, which hasn't happened since last decade. While Friday was free from major upsets, Thursday featured big wins by High Point, VCU, Texas, and Texas A&M. Sorry Tar Heels, at least it wasn't Lehigh or UMBC. Texas remains the only play-in team to survive the first round. Duke looked beat by the Gerry McNamera-coached Siena squad but woke up and prevented an embarrassing upset. Is this foreboding for things to come for the Blue Devils, or will it awaken a fire in them? Kentucky-Santa Clara may have been the biggest nail-biter with the teams trading last minute baskets before Kentucky pulled it out in the end. Chase Johnson, an accounting major from High Point, shoots 49% from beyond the arc, but it was his first 2-point shot of the season that won the game for High Point. Pretty much all that guy does is crunch numbers and make 3's. Nebraska won an easy one over Troy, but in bigger news, it broke its streak as the only Power-5 team in history to never win an NCAA Tournament game. There's little time to catch your breath; Round 2 starts right away!

3/23/26

We've made it through the first weekend with some great games in the second round. The early games on Saturday went according to plan. Texas played the Cinderella role as the lowest seed left in the tournament by beating Gonzaga. Nebraska-Vanderbilt was one of the best games of the tournament and back-and-forth until the end. Nebraska looked to have locked up their second-ever win in tournament history but nearly lost on a half-court shot by Vandy that almost went in before rimming out. High Point again showed that they could hang with the big dogs but were edged out by Arkansas. Sunday brought multiple nail-biters. St. John's scored on a last-second layup to beat Kansas. Iowa scored a last second 3 to beat last year's champ, Florida, in the other big upset of the round. Florida becomes the first #1 to get beat this year. The Florida loss throws the leaderboard into uncertainty with several brackets gunning for the Gators to repeat this year. Meanwhile, we get a four-day break and then start back up this Thursday!

3/28/26

Welcome to the Sweet Sixteen, where the real bracket busting begins! Purdue-Texas came down to the last second with a tip-in by Purdue with less than a second to go. It was the closest thing we've seen to a buzzer-beater this year. Texas becomes the lowest seed left to be eliminated. Iowa-Nebraska was also close, but Iowa ended Nebraska's first successful run in the tournament. Illinois and Arizona both took care of business; I really thought that Houston and Arkansas would put up better fights. Both teams have to consider those blow-outs a major disappointment to end the season. Duke again had to make a late comeback. I don't get this team. Is it a rope-a-dope? Aer they playing with other teams and then taking control? Are they overconfident and finally wakeup halfway through the second half to play to their ability? Regardless, that may catch up with them. As a side note, asking for a friend, does Rick Pitino get his makeup done by a mortician? 13 - the number of points by which Alabama lost to Michigan. The more important number is maybe 2.1 - the number of pounds of weed found in Alabama 2nd leading scorer Aden Holloway's apartment that got him suspended from the team. You don't replace a 17-point-per-game player that easily. It may have come in handy against Michigan. Fun fact - if you Google things that weigh 2.1 lbs, one of the top answers is an adolescent chihuahua. Whose job is it to categorize the various weights of young, adolescent, and adult chihuahuas? UConn-Michigan St looked to be a complete blow-out with UConn jumping to a nearly 20-pt lead early in the game. Kudos to the Spartans for fighting back. They even took a 1-pt lead in the 2nd half, but ultimately UConn won a game that ended up being closer than one would have thought. Tennessee-Iowa St was neck and neck in the first half, but the Vols never looked back in the 2nd half and ran away with it. There were a couple bonus-point heavy upsets. No one picked Iowa, but some of you did pick Tennessee, so the Leaderboard can change. There are 4 games left this weekend, so check back after Sunday to see where you stand!

3/30/26

I still am in a little bit of shock of how Duke-UConn ended. For the first time all tournament, Duke actually started a game looking like they were serious. UConn going 1 for 300 on 3-pt attempts didn't hurt the Blue Devils' chances either. You had to figure that UConn would make some attempt to come back, but even when they got within a point, it looked like Duke had just enough answers. With 10 sec left, a 2-pt lead, and control of the ball, it looked like the game was in hand. My lovely wife and lifelong Duke fan, Amy, wearing her blue "January, February, Duke, April" shirt, made some comment to the effect of "I hope this shirt doesn't mean they won't play in April." Immediately following these words, UConn steals the ball, drains a 3, and perhaps the biggest reversal of fortune of the tournament occurs. Sorry, hon. As Jason Kelce and Beau Allen once said, "Every single thing that every fan does, at home or at the stadium, makes a direct impact in the game." The Duke loss was a killer for the pool with a solid majority having Duke in the Final Four and several people having them win the whole thing. By the way, there were 3 other games in the Elite Eight. Purdue looked like they could pull off the upset, but Arizona just plain outlasted (and out-heighted) them. Illinois and Michigan just plain on rolled in their games. It all brings us the the final 3 games of the tournament. The leaderboard is updated, but a lot could change next weekend. For those of you who need to know the future, I have outlined the different finishing scenarios for the pool below:

If Illinois and Michigan make it the Final, and Illinois wins, the top 3 are:

1. Tina Rudisill and Amanda Johnson (tie)

3. Chris Michelone

If Illinois and Michigan make it the Final, and Michigan wins, the top 3 are:

1. Ty Basenback

2. Byron Kost

3. Brandon Boone

If Illinois and Arizona make it the Final, and Illinois wins, the top 3 are:

1. Joel Seelye (A)

2. Jennifer Weidley

3. Joel Seelye (B) and Sandie Paduano (tie)

If either Illinois/UConn and Arizona make it the Final, and Arizona wins, the top 3 are:

1. Jennifer Weidley

2. Joel Seelye (B) and Sandie Paduano (tie)

If UConn and Michigan make it the Final, and UConn wins, the top 3 are:

1. JVK

2. Tina Rudisill and Amanda Johnson (tie)

If UConn and Michigan make it the Final, and Michigan wins, the top 3 are:

1. Ty Basenback

2. Byron Kost and Chris Johnson (tie)

If Uconn and Arizona make it the Final, and UConn wins, the top 3 are:

1. Joel Seelye (A)

2. Jennifer Weidley

3. JVK

A couple quick observations:

- No one picked Illinois to win the Championship. If they win, it may be the first time that the entire Jellybean field has rolled a bagel.

- Ty Basenback has the chance to be the first repeat winner in Jellybean history.

- Kudos to Joel Seelye, who has a chance for both of his brackets to be in the top 3.

- For the first time, your host has a chance to win. Hey, those domain fees are getting expensive.

4/5/26

Happy Easter to everyone. Watch the kids find their baskets, bite the heads off the chocolate rabbits, and don your Easter bonnets! Saturday saw the penultimate games of the tournament that set the stage for Monday's final game. UConn did what has become the UConn this tournament and handily beat Illinois. While the game had some closer moments, it always seemed like this was the Huskies' game to lose. Dan Hurley is one of the most polarizing coaches in the NCAA, but you can't argue the resume and what he has accomplished in his years of head coaching at UConn. The Michigan-Arizona game became an utter beatdown. Arizona looked like a beast for the games leading up to Saturday and entered as the favorite in a meeting of #1's. To quote Mike Tyson, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Arizona just got punched in the mouth by the Wolverines and never recovered. What should have been a hotly contested game ended up being a blow out. Monday brings the championship game of UConn vs Michigan. Michigan goes in as a favorite, but I can see either team winning this one. Tune in tomorrow night for the final! If you can't wait for Monday, check out the women's final and see if Dawn Staley can cement her legendary status. You can also see the NIT final Sunday night. Auburn goes from tournament snub to potential winner of the Not Invited bracket. I hope you spend your Easter as you want to have it and wish you luck in the final game.

4/6/26

It's Michigan!!! It was sloppy and ugly at times (most of it). Michigan couldn't hit a 3 but couldn't miss a free throw. Despite their athleticism, UConn was consistently out-bullied in the paint. Solo Ball spent most of the game on the bench, and UConn's guards were in foul trouble for seemed like the entire game. It still ended up being a close game until the final minute, but Michigan held on to win the championship. Michigan becomes the first team in history to win the tournament starting 5 transfers from other schools. I think it won't be the last time. The game was far below the over/under (146.5), but Michigan failed to cover the spread by a half point. The Big10 takes home the bragging rights of having teams win both Men's and Women's tournaments (UCLA). Ty Basenback becomes the first repeat winner of the Jellybean pool. If you need some advice for your bracket next year, he is the guy to see. Byron Kost and Chris Johnson tie for 2nd. A big thank you goes out to all of you for being a part of this year's pool. I plan to keep it running and hope to see you all next year. Look for that invite in March and bring a few friends. Congrats to the Wolverines, and the countdown begins to the 2027 Tournament!