You would definitely have to call me a March bracket pool traditionalist, in part because I don't have the time I had 15 or 20 years ago to track multiple sheets and their unlimited possibilities. At this point in my life, I fill out a single bracket each season -- no matter how many contests I actually enter -- and that lone entry matches the post I publish here on SB Nation before the Round of 64 tips. Though I confess I occasionally have to make changes based on First Four results. (Hi, BYU!)
NCAA Tournament 2015: What’s it like to change your bracket in real time?
This year, SB Nation has set up Realtime Brackets to bring a new dimension to the traditional March pool. The results are quite interesting.
This season, SB Nation introduced Realtime Brackets. This is the first bracket contest that not only gives you the option to play the traditional “set it and forget/burn it” bracket, but also has “intermediate” and “advanced” options. The intermediate option permits players to change picks before games, and the advanced option goes all the way and allows contestants to switch their selections during halftime and each media timeout -- at the price of points, of course. But, hey, you’d have a bracket where you might occasionally be able to avoid a big line of red marks if one of your surprise teams flames out early, even if that reward comes with a cost.
I figured if I was going to try something different, I might as well go all the way. So here's how my advanced bracket weekend made the first four days of my NCAA Tournament watching experience more strategic and entertaining.
Thursday
One of the wildest days in tournament history provided me with many options to jump on an upset before time ran out or to bail on one that simply wasn’t going to pan out. Sound like the path to the perfect bracket? Well, not exactly.
For example, the first three games of the day were all No. 3 vs. No. 14 contests -- Notre Dame-Northeastern, Iowa State-UAB, Baylor-Georgia State -- that went down to the very end. However, in Realtime Brackets, your last chance to change your pick in the advanced game comes at the media timeout with under four minutes remaining. I stuck with my original picks on all three, meaning the record for my published picks and my new Realtime Brackets picks opened at 1-2, with the Irish providing the only win.
With Arizona blowing out Texas Southern in the opener in Portland, my next two opportunities to make a change would come in Pittsburgh, where Butler faced Texas, and Louisville, site of SMU's matchup with UCLA. I picked the 11th-seeded Longhorns to get by the sixth-seeded Bulldogs on Tuesday, but by the second half under-eight media timeout, it appeared that the Big East squad would advance. I was ready to make my first switch, at the cost of 10 points.
Of course, Realtime Brackets checks to make sure you haven’t lost your faculties before you make a switch.
I felt pretty confident, so I clicked yes, then switched to Butler.
That decision ended up paying off. However, I stuck with SMU over UCLA, which looked like it would deliver me the full 30-points, until Yanick Moreira’s controversial “goaltending” of Bryce Alford’s three-point attempt in the dying seconds. Oh well.
At this point, my posted bracket was 2-4, with the Realtime version 3-3.
After BYU's First Four loss, I switched my selection to Xavier for its game against winner Ole Miss, which looked like a no-brainer pretty early. On the other hand, the final game of Thursday afternoon, VCU-Ohio State, was another toss-up -- one that ended up turning into another loss, as I stuck with the Rams to the end, which came after overtime.
Heading into the evening session, my posted bracket was a woeful 2-6, while my Realtime Brackets version stood at an even 4-4.
With Villanova blowing out Lafayette in the evening opener, the first chance to make a nighttime switch came in the final moments of the Midwest region 8/9 game -- Purdue vs. Cincinnati. I gave up on my Tuesday pick, the Bearcats, at the under-four media timeout.
It would end up being my first unforced error of the day, as the Bearcats prevailed in the dying seconds. So, my Realtime Brackets entry remained at .500 (5-5) with the Nova and Cincy wins, while my actual bracket’s record jumped to 4-6 with those same results.
On Thursday night, the two games I anticipated the most were in Portland, where I projected a No. 12 vs. No. 13 Round of 32 matchup between Stephen F. Austin and Eastern Washington. The No. 5 and 4 seeds in that pod, Utah and Georgetown, had different ideas. So, at the under-four media timeout of game one and the under-eight of game two, I gave up the ghost on both.
In the evening's remaining toss-up games, I went 1-2, as I stuck with my original picks in a trio of toss-up games -- North Carolina over Harvard, Wofford over Arkansas and LSU over North Carolina State. Out of those three, only the Tar Heels prevailed.
Of course, one game on Thursday night provided a chuckle-worthy option.
No thanks, Realtime Brackets. I’m good.
When the night was over, my posted bracket’s record stood at 6-10, while the Realtime one was an improved 9-7.
Realtime Brackets was clearly not going to be the easy way out you might suspect.
Friday
After the near round-the-clock wildness of Thursday, Friday was tame, and my results reflected this. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t experiment a bit more than I did on opening day.
If you turn alerts on for Realtime Brackets, you’ll get a friendly reminder when one of your picks is in danger at halftime and late in the second half. Here’s one I’m glad I ignored.
Through the first six games of the day, I had put up a perfect 6-0 record, improving my posted bracket’s record to 12-10 and my Realtime entry’s to 15-7. But two of the closest finishes of the day were to come, and I gambled incorrectly on both.
I picked UC Irvine to upset Louisville in the East's 4/13 game in Seattle, and the Anteaters came close, but the Cardinals' win ended up being a loss in both brackets, as I stuck with UCI until the end. It was a different story for Midwest 4/13 game between Maryland and Valparaiso in Columbus, as I felt momentum switching to the Crusaders late.
Oops.
Heading into the night session, my posted bracket stood at 13-11, with the Realtime entry two games better at 15-9.
Friday night was largely uneventful, with the exception of the 10:53 p.m. start in Columbus between Providence and Dayton. On Tuesday, I picked the Friars, but I was goaded into reconsidering after the Flyers won their First Four contest over Boise State. However, I didn't actually pull the trigger until halftime, which cost me seven points.
After the final eight games of the Round of 64, my posted bracket’s record 20-12 (remember, I still had Providence winning in that one) -- a full three games worse than the Realtime version’s 23-9.
Saturday
The great thing about the advanced option is that it combines the traditional bracket with a round-by-round contest. So before UCLA and UAB tipped off the Round of 32 on Saturday afternoon, I had some decisions to make.
Some were easy:
Some felt like a toss-up:
While some were destined to be changed hours later:
I even had the option to jump ahead, though in some cases, I felt that waiting might be a better move. (Hey, since I’ve already gone all the way to the dark side.)
In terms of the games actually played on Saturday, the two biggest moments happened in Pittsburgh, where my Butler pick couldn’t get past Notre Dame in overtime and where NC State was able to avoid the collapse (“Gottfried-ing”) I had anticipated -- resulting in an upset win over East top-seed Villanova. The Wolfpack’s six-point advantage at the under-four media timeout was not enough to get me to change my mind.
Heading into Sunday, my posted bracket’s record stood at 24-16, taking into account the fact three of my Sweet Sixteen teams (Baylor, Iowa State, and Stephen F. Austin) were already gone on Thursday, with Villanova joining them on Saturday night. On the other hand, my Realtime version jumped up to 29-11, with only three Sweet 16 teams eliminated (the Bears, Cyclones, and Villanova).
Sunday
The final day of the weekend opened up with a chance for me to rectify a mistake I made on Tuesday, as I picked against Tom Izzo's Michigan State squad in their Round of 32 matchup against East No. 2 seed Virginia. Eventually, I got around to correcting that.
Remember, folks. Never pick against Sparty during the first weekend.
The second CBS game of the day, a Duke-San Diego State contest that was so enthralling that I ended up napping through it, required no change. But the day's remaining six games offered some possibilities.
I probably should have paid more attention to one of them as it unfolded, as the Flyers ended up being my only loss of the day, and an avoidable one at that. This is the danger of playing Realtime Brackets when at a bar with a friend.
Later on, I managed to correct a pick I made on Saturday morning that seemed like a bit of a long shot in the final analysis.
And, as the night ended, I gave up on one of my Final Four picks, though Northern Iowa rallied briefly not long after I bailed on them.
Final Analysis
So, after the first two rounds of action, my posted SB Nation bracket had a record of 30-18, with six Sweet Sixteen teams eliminated, and half of my Final Four (Northern Iowa and Iowa State gone). There was much more life in my Realtime one, which stood at 36-12, with the added benefit of being able to revamp my picks for the regional round.
Realtime Brackets’ true challenge comes in those toss-up games. With the last opportunity to change picks coming at the final media timeout, making a choice in a close game really does feel like a gamble. As my Purdue and Valparaiso choices illustrate, a late rally may not be enough to justify a change, or in the case of NC State-Villanova on Saturday night, past performance might not necessarily reflect future results.
While I did feel a bit dirty going away from my traditional habit of generally ignoring my bracket after filling it out, I have to say that I enjoyed my first experience with Realtime Brackets, and I look forward to building on that when play shifts to Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles and Syracuse on Thursday and Friday.
It will be just like starting over.
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