2026 Basketball Bracket Challenge
The following pages have been updated since my last email.
SEMI FINALS
SQUARES
PERFORMANCE
PRIZE MONEY PROJECTIONS
These are unofficial. You cannot sue me if I make a mistake here. Worse, they are based on my math skills. But this is
how I project the results for each of the possible scenarios remaining.
| CHAMPION |
Scenario 1 |
Scenario 2 |
 |
Beats Arizona
1. Jennifer Cleaveland, 303
2. Chris Kline, 295
3. Mike King, 284
4. Jourdon Wydra, 282
5. Zain Aziz Wc8hba, 279
T6. Todd Mason, 278***
T6. Todd Mason q4b7HH, 278***
8. brandon green Kb7atg, 273
***I am not wasting my time breaking a tie for the same person.
Beside, if I find out all the pics are the same,it would probly make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
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Beats Michigann
1. Jennifer Cleaveland, 319
2. Jourdon Wydra, 298
3. Mike King 4zm3uv, 283
T4. Chris Kline, 279***
T4. Mike King AcZK9N, 279***
6. David Woolums, 270
7. Mike King, 268
8. Jeff Brown, 267
***Chris Kline will win tie breaker because he picked UConn to win championship.
|
 |
Beats Arizona
1. Mike King, 284
2. Zain Aziz Wc8hba, 279
T3. Todd Mason, 278***
T3. Todd Mason q4b7HH, 278***
5. brandon green Kb7atg, 273
6. Mark Cleaveland, 269
7. Mike King 4zm3uv, 267
8. David Stube, 266
***See explanation for UConn def Arizona above
|
Beats Michigan
1. Mike King 4zm3uv, 283
2. Mike King AcZK9N, 279
3. Jennifer Cleaveland, 275
4. Mike King, 268
5. Jeff Brown, 267
6. David Stube, 266
7. Zain Aziz Wc8hba, 263
T8. Todd Mason, 262***
T8. Todd Mason q4b7HH, 262***
T8. Jonathan Kim GaOBcZ, 262***
*** Jonathan Kim wins tie break on principal. OK, not really. He wins with 13/16 Sweet 16 picks correct.
|
 |
Beats UConn
1. Mike King, 310
2. Zain Aziz Wc8hba, 305
T3. Todd Mason, 304*A*
T3. Todd Mason q4b7HH, 304*A*
5. brandon green Kb7atg, 299
6. Jordan Scott, 282
7. Chris Jackson, 278*B*
8. David Lamb, 278*B*
*A* Rinse and repeat
*B* David Lamb wins tie break because he runs the pool. And because he had 2 of 4 final four teams to 1 for Chris.
|
Beats Illinois
1. Mike King, 310
2. Zain Aziz Wc8hba, 305
T3. Todd Mason, 304*A*
T3. Todd Mason q4b7HH, 304*A*
5. brandon green Kb7atg, 299
6. Jordan Scott, 282
7. Chris Jackson, 278*B*
8. David Lamb, 278*B*
*A* Stop me if you've heard this.
*B* David Lamb still wins the tie break.
|
 |
Beats UConn
1. Mike King 4zm3uv, 309
2. David Woolums, 296
3. Jeff Brown, 293
4. Jennifer Cleaveland, 292
5. Braden Knight, 285
6. Mike King AcZK9N, 279
7. Kevin Young, 272
8. Jourdon Wydra, 271
|
Beats Illinois
1. Mike King 4zm3uv, 309
2. Jeff Brown, 293
3. Braden Knight, 285
T4. David Woolums, 279
T4. Mike King AcZK9N, 279
6. Jennifer Cleaveland, 275
7. Kevin Young, 272
8. Mike King, 268
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*** See the Scoring page for tie break rules.
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YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE!
at the humble web site for the
Basketball Bracket Challenge
as we await the tipoff to the
2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
Come back to this site during the tournament for stats, standings
and the sort of tournament analysis you simply will not find anywhere else.
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PRIZE MONEY
2026 Prize Money results are listed below. The number of prize paying positions and the amounts will vary based on number of entries.
Basic rule of thumb I follow is about 10% of the pool ends up in the prize money and the champion earns about half.
We have 84 entires this year. That is a total prize fund of $420.00. The prize breakdown is listed below.
|
| Place |
Winner |
Amount |
Squares |
Total |
| Champion |
Mike King |
$210.00 |
5.00 |
$230.00 |
| 2nd |
David Woolums |
$75.00 |
|
$75.00 |
| 3rd |
Jeff Brown |
$50.00 |
|
$50.00 |
| 4th |
Jennifer Cleaveland |
$25.00 |
$12.50 |
$37.50 |
| 5th |
Braden Knight |
$20.00 |
|
$20.00 |
| 6th |
Mike King |
$15.00 |
|
See 1st |
| 7th |
Kevin Young |
$10.00 |
$2.50 |
$12.50 |
| 8th |
Jourdon Wydra |
$5.00 |
|
$5.00 |
| Best Start |
David Stubenrauch |
$10.00 |
|
$10.00 |
| Squares |
Brian Lynch |
|
$147.50 |
$147.50 |
| Squares |
Kent Dixon |
|
$67.50 |
$67.50 |
| Squares |
Jonathan Kim |
|
$50.00 |
$50.00 |
| Squares |
Todd Mason |
|
$45.00 |
$45.00 |
| Squares |
Eric Ruter |
|
$30.00 |
$30.00 |
| Squares |
Zain Aziz |
|
$17.50 |
$17.50 |
| Squares |
Brad Hamant |
|
$15.00 |
$15.00 |
| Squares |
John Neltner |
|
$12.50 |
$12.50 |
| Squares |
Jack Laubisch |
|
$12.50 |
$12.50 |
| Squares |
Mark Douyere |
|
$12.50 |
$12.50 |
| Squares |
Rob Collins |
|
$12.50 |
$12.50 |
| Squares |
Jen Carlton |
|
$10.00 |
$10.00 |
| Squares |
Michael Cutcher |
|
$10.00 |
$10.00 |
| Squares |
David Lamb |
|
$7.50 |
$7.50 |
| Squares |
Lisa Kim |
|
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
| Squares |
Charlie Jones |
|
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
| Squares |
Terry Bartl |
|
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
| Squares |
Todd Hendrixson |
|
$5.00 |
$5.00 |
| Squares |
Mark Cleaveland |
|
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
| Squares |
Percy Brown |
|
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
| Squares |
Stephen Leech |
|
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
| Squares |
Steve Anneken |
|
$2.50 |
$2.50 |
Best Start is the total points after rounds 1 and 2.
Prize money paid out is based on Entry Fees collected.
Meaning if some people do not pay, prize money amount is reduced.
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SITE VIEWING RULES
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The following rules apply to emails too!
1. I write. I don't proof read. I don't edit (unless the errors are eggregious, then I'll consider editing)
You will find misspellings, typos, grammatical errors and missing words in almost every article.
If you simply treat this as part of the folksy charm of my site, it will be a more pleasurable experience for both of us.
2. Use the Google Machine To Decipher Cryptic References
I'm a big fan of off the wall references. If you suspect your missing the joke, see if you can find it on google.
3. I Mean You No Harm
I promise any jokes made are in fun, with no intent to offend or hurt feelings. But you know how color blind people can't tell the
difference between greens and reds... well I can't always see the line between appropriate and inappropriate, and before I know it I'm on the wrong side.
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LEADERS BY CHAMPION
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The list below shows the sheet with the most points for each national champion pick. In theory, as long as you stay withing 25 points of the leader (the value of the championship game),
you are still in contention to win. Oh! and your team is still in the tournament.
|
| Team |
Picks |
Player |
Score |
|
|
|
12 |
Mike King 4zm3uv |
309 |
|
|
3 |
Jennifer Cleaveland |
292 X |
 |
22 |
Mike King AcZK9N |
279 X |
|
|
23 |
Mike King |
268 X |
 |
1 |
David Stube |
266 X |
 |
8 |
Jonathan Kim GaOBcZ |
262 X |
 |
2 |
Jordan Scott gCOzAZ |
260 X |
 |
4 |
Jordan Scott Gokpyx |
246 X |
 |
1 |
Jennifer Carlton DotIpP |
236 X |
 |
6 |
Todd Mason VMuwRo |
227 X |
 |
1 |
Eric Koby |
165 X |
 |
1 |
Spencer Dixon |
137 X |
 |
1 |
Megan Newberry |
134 X |
| |
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x = cannot score anymore points
|
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Indicates team is eliminated
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But I get dinged a few cents if you do as abusiness transaction).
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David Lamb
1192 Emery Ridge Dr
Batavia, OH 45103
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