by Conall Gorman ’19
published in the April 2019 edition
The NCAA basketball tournament brings fans three weeks of joy, excitement, pain, and agony. Whether you’re the fan cheering for Duke every year, or the one rooting for the underdog in every game, March Madness is for everybody. What brings people together for this grand tournament though, is the art of filling out a bracket. Some research for hours swearing they have every game picked right, while others pick based solely off the mascots. Regardless, it’s well known that anything can happen in March. ESPN, among numerous other websites supply millions and millions of people around the world with a platform to fill out as many brackets as one desires, in hopes of somehow guessing the inconceivable perfect bracket. Esteemed billionaire Warren Buffett has promised an astounding one billion dollars to the first person to ever get a perfect 63 game bracket correct. Because one is more likely to get struck by lightning eleven times in one lifetime, ESPN makes up for this by offering a trip to Hawaii to whoever gets the “best” bracket after it’s all said and done.
On Thursday March 21, the tournament commenced, and millions around the globe tuned in following along feverishly watching their brackets, claiming that it was “their year” to take the first ever perfect bracket.
In a short week, 56 teams had been eliminated, and the “Elite Eight” was ready to get underway. Junior Graham Elliot noticed midway through the sweet sixteen that his once good, but not great, bracket had made its way to the top one thousand.
“I thought to myself, oh that’s pretty cool,” Junior Graham Elliot said nonchalantly.
It wasn’t until the following night after a shocking Purdue and Tennessee matchup that left Graham in awe. Out of 17.2 million people that filled out an ESPN bracket, Elliot ranked 61st.
Having picked 15 of the 16 teams in the Sweet 16, and all eight teams featured in the elite eight, Graham was rolling.“I’ve probably only watched 20 games this year, maybe less, ” Elliot ‘20 said humbly.
When picking his bracket, like so many other college basketball fans, he needed a strategy. After doing a bit of research done mainly via the eye test, Graham knew who he liked, but especially who he didn’t like.
“The team I knew would do well that not many others thought of was Texas Tech. I’ve watched them a few times and really liked how they played. Their #1 ranking in defensive efficiency matched with a star in Jarrett Culver made them an easy pick for me in a not so easy region. I also knew they’d have to face off against Gonzaga, but didn’t trust their [Gonzaga’s] ability to compete with Texas Tech’s starpower,” said Elliot.
Following typical March Madness form, Elliot also predicted that a one-seed would fall before the Elite Eight. He was right. Even though Graham wasn’t able to catch all the big games this year, his understanding of the sport helped him immensely in these rounds thinking about how teams would match up against one another.
“I watched more games of North Carolina than any other team this year, and was sure their streaky shooting would catch up to them, especially against a team as hot as Auburn,” said Elliot with a smile.
After picking Texas tech and watching the one seed Virginia Cavaliers squeak by Purdue in overtime, going into Sunday, he found himself in 9th place. In a bit of a frenzy filled with shock and excitement, Graham, along with a quickly formed cult following, did the math. If five-seed Auburn was to upset rival Kentucky, he would jump to first place. If his bracket stayed correct for just five more games, he’d stay in first. Nobody ahead of him had the same Final Four as Graham. Just like their game against North Carolina, Auburn heard Elliot’s prayers, and the five-seed Tigers dethroned Kentucky, reserving a ticket to the final four. More importantly though, Graham watched himself jump from an astounding number nine to a jaw-dropping number one.
“Watching my bracket continue to go up the leaderboard was cool, but it really wasn’t even that crazy me until I moved into first place because any game I missed could’ve moved me down. Something I’ve learned from watching this tournament for so many years now is to pick a darkhorse and stick with them. I really liked Auburn, and it paid off,” Elliot said.
In the final game of the Elite Eight, tournament favorites Duke faced a tenacious Michigan State team. If Graham ever needed a game to go his way, it was this one. Not only did he have Duke winning it all, but it would complete his miraculous final four and give him a real shot at winning the whole thing.
The Sunday afternoon game tipped off, and everyone was watching. Back and forth it went, and in similar fashion to all the games prior, it came down to the final seconds. A crucial missed free throw from Duke’s RJ Barrett led to a Michigan State win, not only ending Duke’s season, but effectively ending Graham’s chances at having the best bracket in the world.
“It was kinda crazy, [when Duke lost] I never really expected to finish first but I just didn’t want it to be Duke who lost. I think most would agree with me that throughout the season they were the most dominant team in the country and they were a better team than Michigan State so it was just kind of unfortunate that’s the way it had to end,” said a defeated Elliot.
Of course, the USN community wishes that Graham’s bracket had been able to finish first, but all great things must come to an end. Even with his champion eliminated, Graham was still able to finish in the 99th percentile of all brackets after picking an astonishing three out of four teams in the final four. Regardless of the way it finished, Graham’s two hours of fame in the number one slot will surely be rooted in his memory for the rest of his life.
