March Madness 2026
03/14/2026By Meryl Wiener
April 7, 2026
Was that not your best spent $20? Two weeks of great entertainment and mostly great (more on that below) basketball. Michigan beat UConn in the championship game 69-63. Although the final score reflects only a six point spread, the outcome never seemed in doubt. Michigan was dominant throughout the tournament, they stymied UConn's dynasty delusions of a third title in four seasons, and yes, they pretty much led the whole way through the game. That said, I hate to be a Debbie Downer here, but last night's game was not pretty. With the exception of the last 37 seconds when UConn cut Michigan's lead to 4 points with a clutch 3-point shot and Michigan missing two successive free throws, it seemed like the winner would be the team that did fewer things poorly. Putting it another way, neither team put on a clinic of good basketball. Michigan shot 38% from the field and went just 2-for-15 from 3-point range, although their foul shooting was impressive, hitting on 25 of 28 shots. UConn's shooting was even worse, shooting 31% from the field and 27% from 3-point range. Neither team’s shots weren't falling and while it is tempting to attribute that to great defense - and the defense was great - consistently missing shots, including layups and putbacks is not championship caliber play.
From where I sit, UConn set the tempo, but Michigan's towering front court was the difference. Ironic, that the shortest player on the court, Michigan point guard Elliot Cadeau was the most impactful player, scoring 19 points, and compensating for the hobbling Yaxel Lendeborg who was tentative at best. Cadeau clearly deserved the Most Outstanding Player award.
I will digress for a moment from all this feel good back slapping and rail (again) about my strong objection to the transfer portal. Something is terribly wrong when a team (Michigan) wins on the backs of four impact transfers: Cadeau(UNC), Lendeborg (UAB), Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) and Aday Mara (UCLA). That wrong is exacerbated when the team is the marquis tournament champion. Let's not forget that the "C" in NCAA stands for "Collegiate." In my book, that doesn't pass the sniff test.
And now for the news you've all been waiting for. As I predicted, the most knowledgeable would not necessarily be the winners, although Grant is in the winner's circle; one of our leaders is a rookie. Also, in a WB phenomena, there is not a Fryd in the winner's circle. This year we have $840 to distribute. Prizes are as follows: 1st place, 60%; 2nd place, 20%; 3rd place, 10%; 4th place, 5%; and rookie-of-the-year (the highest finishing rookie who is not in the first four places), 5%. You can check my math, but I'm pretty sure that totals 100%. Here are our 2026 March Madness pool winners:
First Place - Steven Weissman (298 points, 48 correct) - $504
I should have known when you described your shriek at Duke’s failure to just hold the ball, you were no fluke, but rather, a force to be reckoned with. Congrats!
Second Place - Grant Cornehls (290 points, 47 correct) - $168
For all the advice you provided to the masses, it would not have been poetic justice had you not fared respectably in your own right. Well done!
Third Place - Steve Mandel (285 points, 47 correct) - $84
Not just third place, but a rookie at that. In accordance with our no double-dipping rules, you forego your ROTY award to the next highest ranked rookie. Impressive!
4th Place - Chase Lester (265 points, 45 correct) - $42
Finally, a friends and family winner not named Fryd (ok, Bob, and Bryer too). Good job, Chase!
Rookie-of-the-Year - Stephen Brodsky (256 points, 46 correct) - $42
I’ll bet you thought you had the winning slot in the bag. I thought so too. You’d have had some ‘splainin to do. I am always impressed by the ROTY. It’s not easy jumping into the fray. Way to go!
And so, March Madness ends. We hope you've all had as much fun as we have. I don't know about the rest of you, but I need to get back to doing Wordle first thing and resume normal weekend plans.
Your Commissioners-Who-Humbly-
Meryl and Max
April 5, 2026
The championship game is set. It's UConn v Michigan. UConn defeated Illinois in the first semi-final game 71-62. Michigan routed Arizona 91-73 in the other semi-final game. Even the 18-point spread does not capture how Michigan totally dominated Arizona. At one point in the second half Michigan's lead increased to 30. It was like watching your high school team play the Knicks (ok, maybe some wishful thinking here). Anyway, not surprisingly, the championship game will feature a no.1 seed (Michigan) against a no. 2 seed (UConn). Cinderella will not be at the ball. It should be an exciting game. UConn ranks eighth nationally in defensive efficiency; Michigan ranks fifth on offensive and no.1 on defense. Also, while you never like to see injuries play a role in games, much will be riding on whether Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (Big Ten player of the year) is able to play. He suffered an ankle and knee injury in the first half of the semifinal game. This morning he was seen wearing a boot. Short rant: why did Michigan play him in the second half, given the blowout that was unfolding? Dumb, if you ask me.
No one in our group picked UConn to win. It remains to be seen if we're all very smart or all, well, you know. If UConn wins, the standings will remain as is (mathematical theorem: equals added to unequals the results are unequal in the same order. Thank you Mr. Wallach; see, I remembered). That said, if Michigan wins there will be some movement. Here are our leaders as we head to the championship game Monday night:
Steven Weissman - 266 points (47 correct)
Grant Cornehls - 258 points (46 correct)
Stephen Brodsky - 256 points (46 correct)
We-Can't-Wait-To-See-How-This-Ends Commissioners,
Meryl and Max
March 31, 2026
Choke! All they had to do was hold the ball. But they did not. Instead, they crumbled. With Duke leading by two points with 10 seconds left and possession, all they needed to win was inbound the ball and hold it. They threw too many passes, culminating in the inexplicable and disastrous pass Cayden Boozer threw with about six seconds to go; the pass was deflected by UConn guard Silas Demary Jr. The rest is history. The ball ended up in the hands of Alex Karaban who passed to Braylon Mullins, who with .4 second on the clock shot a 3-pointer from about 35 feet out. Swish. Duke’s desperation inbounds heave the length of the court (their only play) was batted away by Karaban. And just like that, Duke lost 73-72, sending UConn to the Final Four. Mullins’ shot will go down as one of the best buzzer-beaters in NCAA tournament history (maybe ever). (Extra credit if you know who used to hold the record for best buzzer-beater and what team he played for.) Tempting as it may be to blame the loss on Boozer for what can only be described as a stupid pass, would really not tell the story. Duke had a monumental meltdown. It lead by as many as 19 points (15 at halftime) and it allowed UConn to steadily chip away at the lead. Duke now has the ignominy of becoming the first no. 1 seed to lose after leading by at least 15 at the half. The UConn-Duke game shrouded the others, although Michigan made its 95-62 blowout win over Tennessee look very easy.
The Final Form will be UConn v Illinois and Arizona v Michigan. Interestingly, no one in our group picked either UConn or Illinois to win it all.
Our leaders as we head into the Final Four:
Stephen Brodsky – 256 points (46 correct)
Steven Weissman – 250 points ( 46 correct)
Grant Cornehls – 242 points (45 correct)
Your Commissioners-Who-Promised-You-Would-Have-Fun,
Meryl and Max
March 28, 2026
The Sweet 16 proved to be, well, sweet. No surprise that we head into the Elite 8 with no. 1 Duke playing no. 2 UConn in the East and no. 1 Arizona playing no. 2 Purdue in the West. Yes, Duke beat our hometown favorite, St. John's 80-75, but the score belies what a tremendous fight the Johnnies put up and how hard Duke had to work to beat them. Duke will have to up its game to live up to its overall no. 1 seed ranking. As for Purdue, it brought new meaning to the word "survive," as it needed a last-second tip-in from forward Trey Kaufman-Renn to survive and avoid a huge upset and beat Texas 79-77. But how about the other two regions? I’ll get there in a minute, but first, a little rant. Am I the only one who finds the transfer portal somewhere between unfair and distasteful? There's no opportunity for players to gel into a team. Hordes of players transfer for any number of reasons: to get more playing time, to get more visibility or to follow their equally transient coaches. And forget the nonexistent education factor – attending three colleges in three or four years. Only 22 scholarship seniors will graduate from the same school where they started. Half of them were playing in the Sweet 16. Purdue has three of them. I'm rooting for Purdue. We need a rule change. Badly. Rant over.
In the Midwest, Tennessee made short shrift of Iowa State (Steve W, I feel your huckleberry corn pain). In the South, I blinked and there was no. 9 seed Iowa beating no. 4 seed Nebraska 77-71. If I were Iowa, I wouldn't get too smug about things, having not led until the final 2:10 minutes, and having benefited from Nebraska's unforgivable blunder that left it with only four players on the court before a critical 3-point play in the final minute of the game. (My high school coach would have crucified me for far less.) Iowa will play no. 3 seed Illinois. The Illini got there by dominating Houston defensively in a 65-55 win. Pay attention Houston: you can't win if you don't make your shots and you definitely can't win if you don't shoot. The Illini held Houston to just over 34% shooting from the floor and they did not even attempt a free throw until 3:27 of the second half.
Heading into the Elite 8 our leaders are:
Stephen Brodsky - 240 points (44 correct)
Steven Weissman - 234 points (44 correct)
Grant Cornehls - 226 points (43 correct)
Your Fair-Minded Commissioners,
Meryl* and Max
*I'm going to exercise a Commissioner's prerogative here and give a shout out to the Mets, who in their season opener beat the Pirates 11-7 and sent Paul Skenes packing after 2/3 of an inning. I'm guessing, but I bet this was the shortest outing of Skenes' career.
March 23, 2026
I hope you’re all set for the Sweet-16. The folks who sit high in our bracket took the least upset chances. Three of the four no. 1 seeds made it to the Sweet-16 round, as did all four no. 2 seeds. The only real outlier that made it is no. 11 Texas that somehow managed to beat no. 6 Gonzaga. Heads will roll for that one. No one goes to Gonzaga for its astrophysics department. ‘Nuff said. And of course, we all have special place in our athletic hearts for our local favorite, no. 5 St. John’s, who shocked no. 4 Kansas, beating them 67-65. I begrudgingly give credit to St. John’s scandal ridden coach, Rick Pitino. I also give credit to junior guard, Dylan Darling, who as of St. John’s final possession with 3.9 seconds to go hadn’t made a basket all game. Somehow, he managed a layup for the game winner. Florida (last year’s champion), the only no. 1 seed that was knocked out, was upset by no. 9 Iowa. Florida was leading 72-70 with 8.9 seconds to go. With the clock ticking down to 4.5 seconds, guard Bennett Stirtz saw backup forward Alvaro Folgueiras in the corner and fired him a no-look pass. Folgueiras stepped back and launched a 3-pointer from the corner, giving Iowa a 73-72 win. I can’t wait for Thursday when the round of 16 picks up.
Our current leaders after the first two rounds:
Stephen Brodsky – 219 points (40 correct)
Grant Cornehls – 205 points (39 correct)
Steven Weissman – 200 points (3 correct)
Your Can’t-Wait-For-the-Tournament-to-Start-Up-Commissioners,
Meryl and Max
March 21, 2026
It’s just us chickens now. The rest of them don’t know what they’re missing. How’s this for a quick overview. Our group picked seven potential champions. Over 35% of us picked Arizona, Over 57% were split among Duke, Michigan and Houston. Only three other teams were picked, each receiving one vote. I love stats.
I was a little nervous on Thursday, having spent the preceding week hyping the tournament and generally ginning up interest. What if it was a bust and I would have to hear that my memos were more exciting than the games? Fear not. Admit it, the games were exciting (even if you picked the wrong first round upsets). Rumors of the demise of Cinderella were decimated. No. 6 North Carolina blew a 19 point lead in an 82-78 overtime loss to no. 11 VCU. In case you were wondering, that was the largest collapse in a first-round game in the tournament’s history, compliments of the team with the most final four appearances and third most championships (kudos if you know how many) in the tournament’s history. How about no. 12 High Point knocking out no. 5 Wisconsin with 15 3-pointers in its 83-82 win. (I’d say that was the high point of the day, but I think it sounds too much like a “dad joke”.) And what about overall no. 1 seed Duke having to overcome an 11 point half-time deficit and needing a 15-4 run over the final seven minutes and a game-saving performance by freshman point guard Cayden Boozer to finally beat no. 16 seed Siena. And that’s only the first round. Are we having fun, or what?
Here are our round one leaders:
Stephen Brodsky – 161 points (28 correct)
Grant Cornehls – 154 points (28 correct)
(Sarah Fryd – 149 points (27 correct)*
(Bob Fryd – 149 points (27 correct)*
*tie. Can you imagine the chit-chat at breakfast this morning?!?
Your Vindicated Commissioners,
Meryl and Max
March 14, 2026
Are we excited?!?!?! March Madness is just about upon us. Prepare for madness, sadness and joy (if you win). Selection Sunday is, well, Sunday (tomorrow). If you’re a sports nerd, you’ve probably arranged your entire weekend so that you’re free to tune into the selection process at 6pm to see which 64 teams will be invited to the Big Dance. Confession: I’ll be there.
Once the teams are selected tomorrow evening, you all should be busy strategizing as to how you will fill out your brackets. Get to work! Quick recap: The Athletic Pulse, The Athletic Weekly, CBS Sports, ESPN, Sporting News, SI:AM, Barstool Sports, or The New York Post, should be your new BFFs. I’ll leave it to you to decide on which of the publications you want to rely, but it will all be for naught unless you show up in my office with $20 in hand. Cautionary note: Do not leave a $20 bill on my desk and scribble something that I’m supposed to decipher is your name (I don’t do hieroglyphics). Do not hand me a $20 bill in the café and think I will remember it’s you. I won’t. Do not pass me in the hallway and tell me the $20 bill you left on my desk is yours and think I will remember. I won’t. This is not because I’m mean, or anything. It’s just because I won’t remember. To me, all Andrew Jacksons look alike. And definitely don’t tell me you’ll pay me “later.” Even if I remember, I won’t care. “Count me in,” “sign me up,” “put me down for two” – all not working without $20. BTW, If you are entering a bracket for a friend or family member, it’s on you to cover their entry fee. How or if you are repaid is your problem. Note to family members: be nice; pay up.
As you’re filling out your brackets, be on the lookout for self-proclaimed experts who, without a shred of humility or uncertainty, proclaim not just who the champion will be, but also who will be the victims of upsets. Let me assure you – their collective track record is worse than almost anything you can come up with on your own, even if you just throw darts. That is, unless you do something really dumb, like pick a 16-seed to win it all (more on that later). Remember, this is a game that does require some thought; meaning, this would be a good time to hang out at a sports bar; have a drink there or just eat the free pretzels, but pay attention to what the regulars are saying. If you have an old sports-minded friend with whom you’ve lost touch, pocket your pride and give that person a call. Read the sports pages.Another suggestion is to drive around in midtown traffic in a yellow taxi. That way you can listen to call-in radio sports shows without having to call yourself and be humiliated and excoriated by the host, but you can listen as some unfortunate caller suffers that fate. If you prefer a more casual approach to filling out your bracket, that works too. Some folks base their selections on teams from schools located in cities they’d like to visit, color of uniforms, cuteness of mascots, or size of campus protests; some nix teams from schools they applied to as seniors in high school, but to which they were not admitted. The irony is that folks who fill out their brackets based on their year-long scrutiny of the various college conferences, do no better than anyone else. I can promise you that our ultimate winners will not necessarily be the most sports knowledgeable among us. (Take it from me; I never win.) So, don’t be concerned if you have no prior basketball knowledge – you’re in good company. Here, anyway.
TIMING: You have until noon on Thursday March 19 to complete your bracket. That is when the tournament officially begins. There are two preceding days of play-in games to reduce the number of teams from 68 to 64 – the “first four,” as in the first four to be out of the tournament, but as I stated in my earlier email, this is just a revenue raiser for the NCAA and you needn’t really pay much attention to those games. You must submit your completed bracket by noon, this Thursday March 19. Word to the wise: don’t wait until the last minute to submit. The site can be difficult to access after 11:30am or so. Glitches happen; we’re not the only group registered for this tournament and “everyone” will be flooding the CBSSports website minutes before start time. Procrastinators – you’re on notice: if there’s a glitch and you don’t get in before the noon tip-off you’ll be out of the game. That has happened. That is something I cannot fix. That is a CBSSports rule. PS – There are “no backsies.” If you waited until the last minute and got locked out, I will not refund your entry fee. The rest of us thank you for fattening the Pool. Think of it as tough love.
SCORING: This is one of those arbitrary rules that Max and I have set and with respect to which we will entertain no complaints. And don’t even think about organizing a protest in the middle of the café. Correct picks in Round 1 (round of 64) are worth 1 point; correct picks are worth 2,4,8,16 and 32 points in each successive round. In addition, in the first three rounds, we will be awarding bonus points based on the number of the seed. Here’s how that works: If in round 1 you pick the no. 16 seed to beat the no. 1 seed and the no. 16 seed wins, you will get 17 points (1 for the correct pick and 16 for the seed no. of the winner). If in round 1 you pick the no. 1 seed to beat the no. 16 seed and the no. 1 seed wins, you will get 2 points (1 for the correct pick and 1 for the seed no. of the winner). More advice for newbies. Don’t get greedy: only two times in the entire eighty-plus year history of this tournament has a no. 16 seed knocked out a no. 1 seed (kudos if you know who those sorry victims were); and a no. 16 seed has never won the tournament. I like our bonus point system because it encourages some thoughtful risk taking and discourages being overly “safe” by always sticking with the favorites.
WINNING: Now, for the important news - how to win. Simple. Person with the most points wins! We actually know what “win” means and we have a day after plan for our winners. We will have lots of winners plus an award for rookie of the year. Obviously, only a first time WB player can win the rookie of the year award, which will be given to the highest finisher who has never played in the WB Pool. A WB rookie can be a centenarian, or a hustler who regularly wins NCAA brackets every year in different groups, using different names, or even Aunt Joanie, but if you never have played in the WB Pool, you’re a rookie. As a reminder, as I’ve said in prior years, I don’t award a booby prize for last place. I know other pools do it, but that just cuts against my competitive grain and rewards sports mediocrity. I hate sports mediocrity. After serious consideration, Max and I agreed that the winning splits should be, as follows: 1st place – 60% of the Pool; 2nd place – 20%; 3rd place – 10%; 4th place – 5%; and ROTY also 5%. I’m pretty sure that totals 100%. In the event the ROTY finishes in the money (that’s the top four places), he or she will relinquish his/her ROTY award – but not the self-satisfaction - and it will go to the next highest rookie finisher. No double dipping allowed. That’s another rule.
Finally, if you haven’t logged on to our CBSSports bracket site, please do so on Monday, so we can clear up any access problems and avoid panic on Thursday. We can handle pretty much any technical problems….and with good humor, but not if they all come in at tip-off time. You’d be amazed at how quickly good humor fades. And don’t forget your $20. Remember, you can sign in and register with CBSSports, but if you don’t pay the $20, I will not activate your entry. I can do that. Think how you’ll feel if you picked the champion and all the correct low-seed underdogs, but can’t win because your entry didn’t count. Also, pretty soon I will have to restrict the mailing list to players only. The non-players among us get very testy about receiving emails about a tournament they’re not in and they don’t appreciate my wit or wisdom.
Your Eager-to-Get-Started Commissioners,
Meryl and Max
