• Join the 2018 TGT Tournament Challenge Group & Tourney Discussion!

    March Madness is upon us and that means it is time for the 2018 TGT Tournament Challenge on ESPN.com. It is free to join the group and the winner of the Tournament Challenge group will receive their choice of either a $20 PSN, XBL, or Nintendo card.

    Feel free to invite friends and family to join the group. The more, the merrier! Click here for a direct link to the Tournament Challenge group.

    In addition to the Men's Tournament Challenge group, there is also a TGT group for the Women's Tournament Challenge. There is no prize for that group, simply pride. Continue on for full information and details on entering!


    ESPN (Men's) Tournament Challenge - Winner receives choice of $20 PSN, XBL, or Nintendo Card

    Select the teams you think will win each tournament game from the first round all the way through the championship game. You'll get points for each game you pick correctly, with the points increasing during each round of the tournament. If you score the most points, you'll have a chance to win the grand prize of a $10,000 Amazon Gift Card and a trip to the 2018 Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

    Get in the action now! Group: The Gaming Tailgate



    ESPN (Women's) Tournament Challenge

    Get in on the excitement of this year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Compete against other fans as you fill out a bracket and earn points for every correct pick! Get a group together and earn plenty of bragging rights amongst your friends by winning it all. Best of all, it's free to play and win.

    Get in the action now! Group: The Gaming Tailgate



    **Note: You must be a member (or potential member) of TGT in good-standing in order to be prize-eligible. The winner must be able to correspond with us via Private Message to claim their prize.**
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Join the 2018 TGT Tournament Challenge group & Tourney Discussion! started by cdj View original post
    Comments 29 Comments
    1. CLW's Avatar
      CLW -
      Quote Originally Posted by cdj View Post
      **Note: You must be a member (or potential member) of TGT in good-standing in order to be prize-eligible. The winner must be able to correspond with us via Private Message to claim their prize.**
      I see what you did there.
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Loyola Chicago gets the job done with a deep as hell three point dagger with 0.3 seconds left!

      I was worried as hell, I was riding Loyola as my most confident upset pick all week, have them going to the Sweet Sixteen. Thank God they came through!

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    1. steelerfan's Avatar
      steelerfan -
      Hoping for some upsets today because yesterday was pretty damn lame.
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Well, Buffalo yesterday and Marshall today just said "fuck you" to 99% of the country who didn't pick both (or either as in my case).

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    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      Bucknell pushing Michigan State late in the first half.
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Charleston almost knocked off Auburn. If they had pulled that off, that would have been THREE 13 seeds knocking off 4 seeds this year!

      14 seed Bucknell also was only a four point loser to Michigan State. Bucknell has always been a very dangerous team when they make the tourney.

      Meanwhile, the usual upset specials are failing this year. The 12 seeds are 0-3 so far. New Mexico State is the last hope for the 12 seeds this year. And Loyola Chicago is the only 11 seed to find success so far, with only Syracuse left to with a chance for a second 11 seed win.

      Hell, even the 10 seeds haven't don't anything this year, with Butler the only 10 seed to get a win. And here I was worried my bracket was too chalky, but it looks like this year is the year for the chalk.

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    1. steelerfan's Avatar
      steelerfan -
      Hoping UMBC can pull this off against UVA (21-21 at the half) to give a boost to an otherwise mundane first two days.
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Oh my god! A 16 seed is going to win! UMBC beats overall #1 seed Virginia 74-54!

      A 16 seed wins for the first time in the history of the tournament!

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    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      That was awesome. I'm not shocked a 16 won, but am surprised UVA wasn't really even competitive for most of that second half.
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      I knew a 16 seed would win eventually, they had been getting competitive as hell in recent years. But I never thought it would happen this soon. I figured it'd be another 5 years or so before we'd see a 16 actually pull off the previously impossible.

      That and no one saw this upset. Everyone thought, if a 16 would do it, it'd either be Texas Southern knocking off Xavier, considered by all the experts to be the weakest of the #1s, or Penn, who many considered the best chance the 16s had, to shock Kansas. Who the hell saw not only the overall #1, top of the list of teams in the tournament Virginia, be the one to lose to a 16, but to get their ass absolutely man handled by that 16. The most feared defense in the tournament had zero answer for the UMBC offense in that second half and their offense was non-existent.
    1. cdj's Avatar
      cdj -
      UConn women up 94-31 at halftime in their opening game. Ridiculous!
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Quote Originally Posted by cdj View Post
      UConn women up 94-31 at halftime in their opening game. Ridiculous!
      And they ended up winning 140-58.

      Scores and games like that are exactly why I never watch the women's tournament. I'd give them a chance since they play weeknight games when the men aren't playing, but watching UConn destroy every opponent by 50 points (or in this case 82 points) makes it a complete waste of time and kills all interest for me. Maybe when UConn is no longer good and other teams can actually compete.

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    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Add Cincinnati and North Carolina (both 2 seeds) to the upset list. And now #1 Xavier falls to Florida State.

      Only just fresh out of the first weekend and already two #1, two #2, two #3 and three #4 seeds have been knocked out.

      The South region is just plain in shambles. Moving on are #5 Kentucky, #7 Nevada, #9 Kansas State and #11 Loyola Chicago. It's the first time in NCAA history that any region will not have a top-4 seed make it to the Sweet 16.

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    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      This is setting to be an Elite Eight of underdogs. Half the field is set, with #3 Michigan, #9 Kansas State, #9 Florida State and #11 Loyola Chicago moving on.

      I am pulling massively for Loyola Chicago to beat Kansas State this weekend. I would love to see them make the Final Four. Ah hell, I'd love nothing more than to see them crash the title game!

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    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Best I can tell, the TGT group comes down to two games. Right now, TigerJustin13 leads with 400 points, while myself and CLW are tied at 390 points. The games that will decide this group are Syracuse-Duke tonight, and a potential Villanova-Duke Final Four matchup.

      CLW and TG13 both have Duke making the Final Four, I have them losing in the Sweet Sixteen (originally to Michigan State). Once you get to the Final Four, CLW has Villanova beating Duke and then winning the championship next game, while TG13 has Duke beating Villanova and then winning the championship next game.

      All three of us have Villanova, Purdue and Kansas winning their respective games today, and all three of us have Villanova beating Purdue and Kansas losing in the Elite Eight, so those matchups have zero effect on the standings other than if Villanova were to lose as that would end mine and CLW's hopes.

      The left side of the bracket is a complete bust for all of us. CLW had Cincinnati and Gonzaga for his left side Final Four, TG13 had Arizona and UNC and I had Virginia and Gonzaga. The only team I still have alive on the left is Michigan and I picked them to lose in the Elite Eight.

      If I somehow get lucky and Syracuse defeats Duke tonight and Villanova at the very least makes the championship game, myself and CLW will finish in a tie with 750 points. That would jump to a 1070 point tie between myself and CLW if Villanova wins the entire tournament. That same result would see TG13 finish with 600 points.

      If Duke wins tonight, but Villanova beats Duke in the Final Four, I would finish with either 750 points (Villanova loses championship game) or 1070 points (Villanova wins championship), TG13 would finish with 720 points, and CLW would win the group with either 870 points (if Villanova loses the championship game) or 1190 points (if Villanova wins the championship.

      If Duke wins tonight and beats Villanova in the Final Four, I would finish with 590 points, CLW would finish with 710 points and TG13 would finish with either 880 points (if Duke loses the championship game) or 1200 points (if Duke wins the championship).

      So for the most part, the winner of the TGT group hinges on tonight's Syracuse-Duke game, with the rest hinging on whether Villanova can win at least two more games or not.
    1. CLW's Avatar
      CLW -
      Yeah the right side of the bracket will determine the winner this year.

      I would note that Ram will finish 2nd if cuts down the nets (didn't bother with the math if they lose in the title game)
    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Quote Originally Posted by CLW View Post
      Yeah the right side of the bracket will determine the winner this year.

      I would note that Ram will finish 2nd if cuts down the nets (didn't bother with the math if they lose in the title game)
      Yep, I'm anxiously awaiting this Syracuse/Duke game. Syracuse is my only hope of finishing in a tie for first.

      Ram technically is still in the running, but I elected to ignore him due to his being banned basically disqualifying him from the prize.

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    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Son of a bitch. Syracuse comes up four points short against Duke. And with that, I'm officially eliminated. Even if Villanova wins it all, I can't catch up to CLW in points.

      Good luck to our two finalists, CLW and TigerJustin13!

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    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      Loyola Chicago is crashing the Final Four! They didn't need a 3 at the buzzer this time, hammering Kansas State 78-62.

      I seriously would love nothing more than to see Loyola Chicago win the entire goddamn tournament!

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    1. SmoothPancakes's Avatar
      SmoothPancakes -
      The first half of the Final Four is set.

      (3) Michigan vs (11) Loyola Chicago

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