History Shows Kentucky is Team Best Fit to Win it All

 

The metrics sure do like Kentucky this year....

My favorite stat on the topic:

 

There are 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 ways to fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket -- that’s 9.2 quintillion. Each of the sixty-three games have two possible outcomes, and each different outcome creates its own alternate bracket. So, 2^63. Nine point two quintillion.

For perspective, scientists at the University of Hawaii estimate that there are around 7.5 quintillion grains of sand on planet earth. If you filled out your bracket randomly, by flipping a coin to choose the winner of each game, the odds of your bracket surviving to April 6 without a blemish worse than the odds of you choosing a particular grain of sand from all the beaches on earth.

 

History Shows Kentucky is Team Best Fit to Win it All

 

The metrics sure do like Kentucky this year....

 

Which is surprising considers many of the basketball writers give them little chance.

Which is surprising considers many of the basketball writers give them little chance.

 

I've yet to find an expert that picked them to reach the Final Four. Most have them exiting to UCLA in the Sweet 16. A few I've seen have them going out against UNC. I think I've actually seen more with them losing to Wichita State than I've seen with them losing to UNC.

I've yet to find an expert that picked them to reach the Final Four. Most have them exiting to UCLA in the Sweet 16. A few I've seen have them going out against UNC. I think I've actually seen more with them losing to Wichita State than I've seen with them losing to UNC.

 

Same. Usually you see a pundit or two sticking with UK, but not this season.

I've yet to find an expert that picked them to reach the Final Four. Most have them exiting to UCLA in the Sweet 16. A few I've seen have them going out against UNC. I think I've actually seen more with them losing to Wichita State than I've seen with them losing to UNC.

 

ESPN's Eammon Brennan has them winning it all. Joe Lunardi and one other guy I've never heard of have them making the Final Four. The others all have them exiting earlier.

 

And Dan Dakich has Michigan cutting down the nets. :lol2:

 

And Dan Dakich has Michigan cutting down the nets. :lol2:

 

Of course he does lol.

Yes. Kansas St. fans don't have the same difficulty picking against their team when they meet up with that UK/Duke/UNC/UL two-seed, because Jacob Pullen's not walking through that door. Michael Beasley is not walking through that door. Mitch Richmond is not walking through that door. They don't have the team this season, or historically, to feel confident picking them.

 

UK fans, however, will struggle mightily to pick UK over UCLA or UNC because they do have a talented enough team to beat them, but mental breakdowns, bad bounces, and uncharacteristically good shooting nights happen.

 

That is a great point, but I meant fans of Duke, Kansas, UCLA, etc. if you're a fan of any of the teams seeded 1-5 (5 might be a stretch) you are always thinking your team has a chance depending on circumstances, but I do understand better what you are saying.

 

I wonder if some people think in their minds like yea I think I might have just submitted the perfect bracket, because I have filled out at least 10, and every time I think like ehhhhh on at least a few match ups.

Interesting fact. No team has ever lost the first game of a conference tournament and gone on to win the NCAA championship! If you believe in these things, this would eliminate Louisville and Kansas.