2019 March Madness - The Draft

I TRAVELED 500 MILES TO GIVE YOU MY SEED

58 of the 80 players drafted are from teams seeded 1-7. “Bonus” players that earn the 1.5x multiplier from seeds 8-14 make up the remaining 22 players drafted; no players were selected from teams seeded 15 or 16. Here is a table of players per team’s seed:

Seed    Players Drafted

1 14

2    15

3    8

4    8

5    2 (yikes!)

6    5

7    2

8    5

9    2

10    4

11    5

12    3

13    2

14    1

I drafted the most 1-seed players (5), while Alison drafted the most 2’s (4). Stu drafted the most 3-seed players, all of them members of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Jake is the only owner with no 1-seed players, and the average seeding of his players is 7.75. For comparison, most owners’ average seed number is between 5 and 6.




DOUBLE DUTY

Except for Stu’s trifecta of Red Raiders, no one has more than two players from the same team. 2 of my first 3 picks were from Virginia, and I also have 2 UNC guys. Gav picked up 2 UNC role players at the end of the draft. Bob also has 2 Virginia guys. James has 2 K-State players.




PICKING THE SCHOOLS TO PROVE TO DAD I’M NOT A FOOL

UNC had the most players drafted - 6 of them! Every other 1 and 2 seed had 4 players drafted, except for Tennessee, which had 3.





THE FIRST FOUR FOUR

Four players from the “First Four” play-in games were drafted. Jake has a Belmont and St John’s player, Gav has a Belmont, and Stu has Temple’s Shizz Alston Jr.





NAMES IN THE GAMES

Speaking of this man named Shizz, Stu’s team has a bunch of great names: Shizz, Bruno Fernando, Jaylen Nowell, Tariq Owens. Shawn’s got some cool-sounded dudes as well: Mfiondu Kabengele, Marial Shayok, Tyus Battle, Neemias Queta, Miye Oni. Alison has a Xavier and a Zavier, plus Rui Hachimura and the legendary Admiral Schofield. I think De’Andre Hunter has a fun name, because I think of it as “The Andre Hunter”, and picture him chasing Andre Agassi around with a hunting rifle.

CURSE OF THE ORANGE PEARL

Not a single player from the Auburn Tigers was drafted! That’s the only team seeded 1-4 that was shafted. Yet no one took a player from their first-round opponent NM State,





THINK ABOUT DIRECTION WONDER WHY YOU HAVEN’T BEFORE

Almost everyone has a player from each region, but Jake doesn’t have anyone in the Midwest, and Stu doesn’t have anyone in the South.





HARD HITTING POSITION ANALYSIS

More guards were picked than forwards. 48 guards, 29 forwards, and 3 centers.





Okay, let's look at these squads!

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	1	Gavin	E	1	Duke Blue Devils	Zion Williamson	F
2	20	Gavin	E	11	Belmont Bruins	Dylan Windler	G
3	21	Gavin	W	1	Gonzaga Bulldogs	Zach Norvell Jr.	G
4	40	Gavin	S	8	Ole Miss Rebels	Terence Davis	G
5	41	Gavin	E	4	Virginia Tech Hokies	Nickeil Alexander-Walker	G
6	60	Gavin	S	11	Saint Mary's Gaels	Jordan Ford	G
7	61	Gavin	MW	1	North Carolina Tar Heels	Nassir Little	F
8	80	Gavin	MW	1	North Carolina Tar Heels	Garrison Brooks	F

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Gav used the top pick on the best player, and grabbed some bonus players before completing his team with lesser-known UNC guys.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	2	James	W	1	Gonzaga Bulldogs	Brandon Clarke	F
2	19	James	MW	3	Houston Cougars	Armoni Brooks	G
3	22	James	E	3	LSU Tigers	Tremont Waters	G
4	39	James	S	4	Kansas State Wildcats	Barry Brown Jr.	G
5	42	James	S	6	Villanova Wildcats	Eric Paschall	F
6	59	James	S	4	Kansas State Wildcats	Xavier Sneed	F
7	62	James	W	13	Vermont Catamounts	Anthony Lamb	F
8	79	James	MW	13	Northeastern Huskies	Vasa Pusica	G

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After his first pick of the Zag, James boldly chose no other player from a Final Four favorite.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	3	Bob	E	1	Duke Blue Devils	RJ Barrett	F
2	18	Bob	S	1	Virginia Cavaliers	Ty Jerome	G
3	23	Bob	E	2	Michigan State Spartans	Nick Ward	F
4	38	Bob	MW	8	Utah State Aggies	Sam Merrill	G
5	43	Bob	S	5	Wisconsin Badgers	Ethan Happ	F
6	58	Bob	S	8	Ole Miss Rebels	Breein Tyree	G
7	63	Bob	W	2	Michigan Wolverines	Charles Matthews	G
8	78	Bob	S	1	Virginia Cavaliers	Braxton Key	G

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Bob has 2 UVA players, but also 2 players that might face off against UVA by the Sweet Sixteen - Ole Miss and Wisconsin.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	4	Luke	MW	1	North Carolina Tar Heels	Luke Maye	F
2	17	Luke	E	1	Duke Blue Devils	Cam Reddish	F
3	24	Luke	W	2	Michigan Wolverines	Ignas Brazdeikis	F
4	37	Luke	S	12	Oregon Ducks	Payton Pritchard	G
5	44	Luke	S	3	Purdue Boilermakers	Ryan Cline	G
6	57	Luke	MW	2	Kentucky Wildcats	Reid Travis	F
7	64	Luke	W	7	Nevada Wolf Pack	Caleb Martin	F
8	77	Luke	MW	4	Kansas Jayhawks	Devon Dotson	G

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Luke drafted his namesake, a Duke guy, and then 4 guys I am not at all aware of but their stats seem good, and yeah, this is his team.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	5	Chris	MW	1	North Carolina Tar Heels	Cameron Johnson	G
2	16	Chris	W	5	Marquette Golden Eagles	Markus Howard	G
3	25	Chris	E	2	Michigan State Spartans	Kenny Goins	F
4	36	Chris	S	2	Tennessee Volunteers	Jordan Bone	G
5	45	Chris	MW	10	Seton Hall Pirates	Myles Powell	G
6	56	Chris	W	6	Buffalo Bulls	CJ Massinburg	G
7	65	Chris	S	6	Villanova Wildcats	Phil Booth	G
8	76	Chris	E	10	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Amir Coffey	G

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Chris said during the draft that everything was going great for him and he was getting all the players he targeted, so if he loses he will blame himself.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	6	Dan	MW	1	North Carolina Tar Heels	Coby White	G
2	15	Dan	S	1	Virginia Cavaliers	De'Andre Hunter	G
3	26	Dan	S	1	Virginia Cavaliers	Kyle Guy	G
4	35	Dan	W	1	Gonzaga Bulldogs	Josh Perkins	G
5	46	Dan	W	2	Michigan Wolverines	Jon Teske	C
6	55	Dan	MW	1	North Carolina Tar Heels	Kenny Williams	G
7	66	Dan	E	10	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Jordan Murphy	F
8	75	Dan	W	4	Florida State Seminoles	Terance Mann	G

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I have wanted to draft these 2 Virginians all year long, even though the only UVA game I watched this year was their ACC Tourney loss to Florida State. I am not a reasonable person! As you can see, I am not cheering for any upsets except for the Gophers.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	7	Alison	W	1	Gonzaga Bulldogs	Rui Hachimura	F
2	14	Alison	S	2	Tennessee Volunteers	Admiral Schofield	G
3	27	Alison	MW	2	Kentucky Wildcats	Keldon Johnson	G
4	34	Alison	W	2	Michigan Wolverines	Zavier Simpson	G
5	47	Alison	E	2	Michigan State Spartans	Xavier Tillman	F
6	54	Alison	MW	3	Houston Cougars	Corey Davis Jr.	G
7	67	Alison	S	12	Oregon Ducks	Louis King	F
8	74	Alison	MW	7	Wofford Terriers	Cameron Jackson	F

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Alison replaced Brian last minute, and this is her first year participating, and this team looks fine! Nothing wrong with a 2 seed - that's almost as good a seed as you can get!

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	8	Stu	MW	2	Kentucky Wildcats	PJ Washington	F
2	13	Stu	W	3	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Jarrett Culver	G
3	28	Stu	MW	4	Kansas Jayhawks	Dedric Lawson	F
4	33	Stu	W	3	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Matt Mooney	G
5	48	Stu	E	11	Temple Owls	Shizz Alston Jr.	G
6	53	Stu	E	6	Maryland Terrapins	Bruno Fernando	F
7	68	Stu	MW	9	Washington Huskies	Jaylen Nowell	G
8	73	Stu	W	3	Texas Tech Red Raiders	Tariq Owens	F

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Last year's champ probably needs Kentucky to go all the way, and obviously a huge run for Texas Tech.

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	9	Shawn	S	2	Tennessee Volunteers	Grant Williams	F
2	12	Shawn	E	1	Duke Blue Devils	Tre Jones	G
3	29	Shawn	W	4	Florida State Seminoles	Mfiondu Kabengele	F
4	32	Shawn	MW	2	Kentucky Wildcats	Tyler Herro	G
5	49	Shawn	MW	6	Iowa State Cyclones	Marial Shayok	G
6	52	Shawn	W	8	Syracuse Orange	Tyus Battle	G
7	69	Shawn	MW	8	Utah State Aggies	Neemias Queta	C
8	72	Shawn	E	14	Yale Bulldogs	Miye Oni	G

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Shawn says he was inspired to draft this Yale dude while eating a burger at Culver's and watching him play against Harvard. I was eating Burger King when I watched Virginia lose that game I mentioned earlier. Thank you, burgers!

ROUND	SELECTION	OWNER	REGION	SEED	Team	Player	Position
1	10	Jake	E	2	Michigan State Spartans	Cassius Winston	G
2	11	Jake	W	12	Murray State Racers	Ja Morant	G
3	30	Jake	S	3	Purdue Boilermakers	Carsen Edwards	G
4	31	Jake	W	11	St. John's Red Storm	Shamorie Ponds	G
5	50	Jake	E	4	Virginia Tech Hokies	Kerry Blackshear Jr.	F
6	51	Jake	E	11	Belmont Bruins	Nick Muszynski	C
7	70	Jake	S	9	Oklahoma Sooners	Christian James	G
8	71	Jake	S	10	Iowa Hawkeyes	Tyler Cook	F

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Forget it Jake, you had to draft last! With most of the top guys off the board, he adopted a reasonable strategy of picking high-risk, high-reward dudes, and kept it up for the duration.