College Basketball Contests NCAA Contests Mid-Season: Catch 'em if You Can
NCAA Contests Mid-Season: Catch 'em if You Can
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If there were ever clear favorites heading into the back half of the hoops season it would be this year's front-runners in NCAA contests. sigsky has ripped through the first eight weeks behind five top 3 finishes and, thus far, is making an unchallenged case to claim 2011's No. 1 college basketball predictor. The South Carolina fan carries a 25-point lead over the nearest competitor, kst8no1, who just notched his own win in the open contest. The Kansas State fan recently collected his third 1st place award in the NCAA Pool and enjoys a $62 lead in the race for the MoneyList title.
NCAA Weekly Challenge
While the leaders to this point in the season have built impressive first half resumes to make their cases for 2011's top college basketball predictors, it doesn't disqualify a talented crop of trailers. They may have there work cut out for them over the next several weeks and they'll probably need a little luck but they also have the opportunity to make some history if any of them can complete a comeback.
If any player is going to make a serious second-half run they'll have to do something similar to what sigsky has already accomplished in the first half. Forget top 10 finishes, sigsky has gone straight for the top 3 in almost every week of the contest to date. After finishing in the middle of the pack in Week 1, sigsky went on a run where he placed in the top 3 five of the next seven weeks. Included in that run was a win in Week 2, 3rd in Week 3, 2nd in Week 4, 2nd in Week 6 and 3rd in Week 8. He's maintained the No. 1 ranking since winning Week 2 and built upon it since.
Altogether, sigsky has tallied a 58-22(.725) record and 351.10 points which are tops in both scoring categories. When multiplied together, sigsky earned a 254.55 CFBRating in eight weeks and is on pace to challenge all three records set by tmack62 and scooby10672 last year.
Undoubtedly, these stats will be difficult to match in the second half but if the second half goes anything like the last three weeks, kst8no1(229.53) might have something to say about it. During that short span, the current MoneyList leader has climbed nine spots to No. 2 on the NCAA Challenge Standings thanks to the red-hot stretch. A win last week highlighted his first half after placing 2nd in Week 7 and 3rd in Week 6. The only other top 10 finish came in Week 2 but he's already demonstrated that sigsky isn't the only one with the momentum going into Week 9 and beyond.
If anyone is going to challenge sigsky's first half feats it's going to take consistency every single week. Along with sigsky, no one has been more consistent week in and week out than No. 3 Jahiegel(226.87). The Wisconsin fan has five top 10's to his credit and since Week 3 he's never appeared outside of the top 5 overall. Jahiegel's got the second most confidence points with 336.10 and only trails by four games in the record category.
Other top challengers admit No. 4 decampo42(223.71), No. 5 JohnPatrick(222.00), No. 6 J06Powercat(214.11), No. 7 gaisan(213.94), defending champion No. 8 tmack62(209.56), No. 9 The DOMinator(197.18) and No. 10 JohnnyBeGood08(192.47).
For those that are further down the standings or outside of the top 32 needed to qualify for the NCAATC, keep in mind there is a lot of basketball left to predict and the standings remain fluid. No matter where you stand or even if you haven't played at all, you can jump in now and qualify for the post-season contest.
Making up a 25-point plus deficit will be a tall task for any contestant and if history is any indicator sigsky won't relent. He's finished No. 3 overall each of the last two season's in addition to having the 2008 NCAA Tournament Challenge title to his credit. All indications point to it being his time to break through and claim college basketball's most prized prediction title. However, this past football season, tiger81 enjoyed a similar lead in the Top 25 Challenge with only three weeks to play before Mikey overtook No. 1 in the last weekend. With still half a season left on the basketball side of things, by no means is the lead insurmountable.
Good luck to all contestants the rest of the way!
NCAA Weekly Pool
Prior to Week 6, kst8no1 sat at No. 6 on the MoneyList with $33.15 in earnings behind two second place finishes. Three weeks and three wins later the Kansas State fan finds himself on top with a gaudy $62 margin to work with heading into the second part of the season. That $62 lead marks the largest at the mid-point since the contest began running in 2008-2009. Over the last three weeks kst8no1 has hit a hot streak by winning Week 6, Week 7 and Week 8, amassing $106.90 to shoot his total to $140.05. His latest wins came this past week when he swept Week 8 contests with a 10-0 record.
Not only is kst8no1 the primary target for the rest of the field this season, his $140.05 is well on track to break TwoEgg's record of $194.40 set the first year of the contest in 2008-2009.
Looking back in NCAA Pool history, you'll find that kst8no1 is already in uncharted territory. During the first two seasons, he did not record a win but has three already this season. His best MoneyList result came last year with a 7th place finish on $43.15. Evidently, kst8no1 was not one of the favorites coming into the season but he's already squashed any doubt that he is the sole favorite through the first eight weeks.
If kst8no1 can earn over $100 in three weeks, anyone currently on the list still has a shot to win the contest which is one of the great things about the nature of the NCAA Pool. Hot and cold streaks make the race for the MoneyList unpredictable and intriguing to follow and play.
One of the trailers that won't necessarily need a hot streak to make up the deficit is the player who owns the smallest one. At No. 2 on the list, JohnPatrick($78.20) was one of the favorites to win the contest coming into the season. He's finished no worse than No. 2 in each of the first two seasons and missed out on last year's title by less than $2. He's also placed each of the last three weeks and has notched one win, three second places and one third place. JohnPatrick averages three wins a season so expect him to make a run in the second half.
Right behind JohnPatrick is No. 3 crzyfrk($76.30). Besides kst8no1, he is the only other player to collect multiple first place prizes, one in Week 1 and two in Week 3 when he swept NCAA contests. He has recently hit a cold streak but the cyclical nature of the contest would hint for crzyfrk to appear on the podium multiple times before the season is done. He has finished 4th on the MoneyList every season to date.
bobbyd($58.65) and tmack62(57.80) round out the top five with a first, second and third place apiece. Both typically finish in the top 3-5 range and average multiple wins per season. bobbyd holds the mark for the most wins in a season with four which came in 2009.
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