If it’s March, then it must be time for March Madness – and whatever you’ve seen in the betting sheets, NAPA-Net readers have their own opinions.
Bracket Talk
Gonzaga was (barely) the top pick of readers to win the West bracket, pulling the support of 35%, just ahead of the 29% who were placing their bets on Michigan. Texas Tech was a distant third, favored by 12%, with Syracuse, Murray State, Florida State and Arizona State getting more modest support.
“The weakest division could see a surprise Final Four entrant,” opined one reader. Another noted that “Michigan was given an extremely early Xmas gift with this region...”
In the South, Virginia topped the polling, supported by 36%, with Tennessee in second place, picked by 24%. Wisconsin and Villanova tied for third with about 12% each, while Oregon, Kansas State and Purdue were also named.
“Virginia has extra incentive after an embarrassing round 1 loss last year,” noted one reader. As for the support for Wisconsin, one reader explained: “I like cheese.”
In the Midwest, North Carolina dominated the picks, garnering the support of 59% to win that bracket, with Kentucky a distant second (18%) and Houston and Seton Hall splitting the remaining votes. “Houston is one of the most underrated teams in the country,” noted one reader. I guess we’ll see.
As for the East, Duke was even more dominant, picked by 65% to win the bracket, with Michigan State a distant second (29%) and Maryland getting the “leftovers.” “Michigan State got robbed of the #1 seed and they are gonna show they deserved it,” noted one reader. Another explained, “It’s my alma mater.”
Final ‘Foray’
With that as the Final Four, we asked readers to pick the overall winner. Duke dominated here as well – and no other team was even close. A distant second was Michigan State.
Duke was not, however, the team – well, that anybody wanted to see win. Here Michigan State came out on top, though the votes were very spread out. Votes were also received for Bradley, Georgia State, Gonzaga, Houston, Iowa, Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan, Tennessee, Villanova and Wofford (“All dogs would be happy. Woof woof!” noted one reader). One reader uncharitably commented “Illinois... oh wait... wah wah.”
Looking for the upset of the tournament? Readers guessed it might be Seton Hall, Liberty or Belmont – each drawing the support of about 13%. After that, it was pretty spread out.
Looking for a Cinderella team? Murray State, according to NAPA-Net readers – in fact, nearly a quarter thought so. Wofford was a distant second (actually third behind “no idea”).
Comment Airing
As for reader comments – why, yes – we had some. Here’s a sampling:
“I think it’s just fun. It's also the one time an entire office gets behind something and everyone is involved. Doesn't matter if you like, watch, or care about basketball.”
“It’s loads of fun and provides lots of marketing and networking opportunities in business.”
“I think employers have to look at this as a big team building exercise – it brings us all closer together through good-natured ribbing and competition. And the bragging rights awarded in winning your office pool – priceless!”
“If you’re spending a lot of time on this, you’re doing it wrong! Find the experts with best track record for picking winners, replicate their picks, and you're done. Usually takes all of 10 minutes...”
“Not much of a basketball fan, college or pro, but I like the opportunity has have something to do while waiting for the weather to turn into spring already. And those survey people have even more to do!”
“While I get the productivity drain issue, I think we underestimate the boost to workplace culture that can occur with these types of endeavors.”
Thanks to everyone who participated in our NAPA-Net Reader Poll.
And – just think – they’ll be playing the Final Four during the NAPA 401(k) Summit in Las Vegas – and you sure won’t want to miss that (if you haven’t – and it’s getting late – but you can still register at http://napasummit.org).
