Fan picks from the 2008 Bracket Breakdown

Experts called the bubble the weakest it’s been in years before the selection committee announced its field of 65 last Sunday, and perhaps that’s why chalk ruled this year’s fan bracket selections.

Over 10,000 brackets were completed in the 2008 Athlon Sports Bracket Breakdown and we’ve compiled all the data into the stats below.

Some interesting notes:

* Texas A&M was the only lower-seeded team fans collectively predicted to upset the higher seed (BYU). Texas A&M won that Thursday matchup 67–62.

* The 5-12 seed game has historically been the most likely place for a big upset, but the highest percentage fans gave a 12 seed to win was 20 percent (Western Kentucky).

* According to the fans, the biggest favorite for an upset in a non 8-9 seed game was Kentucky at 37 percent. Kansas State followed with 36 percent. One of those panned out (Kansas State 80, USC 67) and one didn’t (Marquette 74, Kentucky 66).

* The only two non-chalk teams (seeds 1-4) that fans predicted would make the Sweet 16 were Clemson and Notre Dame, both 5 seeds. The 4 seeds that were left out were Vanderbilt and Washington State.

* 78 percent of the fans predicted a No. 1 seed as their national champion. Interestingly, a No. 1 seed has won the tournament only two out of the last five years (Florida ’07 and North Carolina ’05).

Note: Bolded teams were victors of Thursday first-round games.

East	Midwest	South	West
North Carolina - 98%	Kansas - 99%	Memphis - 99%	UCLA - 99%
Mt. St. Mary's - 2%	Portland St. - 1%	UTA - 1%	Ms Valley St. - 1%
Indiana - 52%	UNLV - 55%	Mississippi St. 56%	BYU - 36%
Arkansas - 48%	Kent State - 45%	Oregon - 44%	Texas A&M - 64%
Notre Dame - 83%	Clemson - 83%	Michigan St. - 84%	Drake - 80%
George Mason - 17%	Villanova - 17%	Temple - 16%	West. Kentucky - 20%
Washington St. - 87%	Vanderbilt - 92%	Pittsburgh - 97%	Connecticut - 95%
Winthrop - 13%	Siena - 8%	Oral Roberts - 3%	San Diego - 5%
Oklahoma - 61%	USC - 64%	Marquette - 63%	Purdue - 75%
St. Joseph's - 39%	Kansas St. - 36%	Kentucky - 37%	Baylor - 25%
Louisville - 97%	Wisconsin - 98%	Stanford - 97%	Xavier - 83%
Boise State - 3%	CS Fullerson - 2%	Cornell - 3%	Georgia - 17%
Butler - 80%	Gonzaga - 52%	Miami - 53%	West Virginia - 66%
South Alabama - 20%	Davidson - 48%	Saint Mary's - 47%	Arizona - 34%
Tennessee - 99%	Georgetown - 99%	Texas - 99%	Duke - 99%
American - 1%	UMBC - 1%	Austin Peay - 1%	Belmont - 1%

MOST POPULAR SWEET SIXTEEN:

(1) North Carolina vs (5) Notre Dame
(1) Kansas vs (5) Clemson
(1) Memphis vs (4) Pittsburgh
(1) UCLA vs (4) Connecticut
(2) Tennessee vs (3) Louisville
(2) Georgetown vs (3) Wisconsin
(2) Texas vs (3) Stanford
(2) Duke vs (3) Xavier

FINAL FOUR:

All four #1 seeds were the most popular picks by the users..

21% of users picked Memphis to the final 4 — 12% picked Texas in the same region.
46% of users picked UCLA to the final 4 — 8% picked Duke in the same region.
53% of users picked UNC to the final 4 — 9% picked Tennessee in the same region.
22% of users picked Kansas to the final 4 — 7% picked Georgetown in the same region.

CHAMPIONSHIP PICKS:

1) North Carolina - 35%
2) UCLA - 20%
3) Kansas - 14%
4) Memphis - 9%
5) Tennessee - 4%
6) Texas - 3%
7) Georgetown - 3%
8) Duke - 2%
9) Pittsburgh - 1%
10) Louisville - 1%

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds