Loading...

Nothing But Net For The NPT Bracket-Busters

The NonProfit Times NCAA bracket challenge is back with an expanded field of nonprofit executives jockeying for the crown of wisest charity hoopster this year. We invited last year’s top finishers to return for 2016 as well as the NPT staff – despite their dead-last finish in 2015 – and a few new faces.

There’s a pretty clear quartet shaping up as the most popular picks to make the Final Four, according to The NPT bracket challenge. Everyone loves Michigan State, found in 14 of the 15 brackets, followed by Kansas (10), North Carolina (7) and Oklahoma (6).

As for the final champion, Michigan State was chosen by six participants, just ahead of Kansas, found on five brackets. North Carolina was the only other school crowned as champ on more than one bracket. Rounding out the most popular picks for the Final Four were: Oregon (4); Duke, West Virginia and Kentucky (3); Xavier and Maryland (2).

Day 10 UPDATE – National Championship

The NPT Brackets came down to the final second of Monday’s title game when Villanova sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat North Carolina. The thrilling Wildcats’ victory clinched the NPT Brackets for Jan Pruitt, president and CEO of North Texas Food Bank, edging Nicole Angresano, vice president, community impact, at United Way of Greater Milwaukee. Both had two of their Final Four picks make the semifinals, with Pruitt picking Kansas over Carolina in the final and Angresano choosing the Tar Heels to beat Oklahoma. Had Carolina completed the comeback win, it would have been Angresano cutting down the proverbial nets in the NPT Brackets.

Nailing two Final Four picks helped Pruitt to the NPT Brackets win as did predicting a nearly flawless West region, missing on only two first-round matchups (St. Joseph’s and Texas). Her 99 points are short of last year’s 114 by Jacob Harold but enough to claim victory, just three points better than Angresano:

  1. Jan Pruitt – 99
  2. Nicole Angresano – 96
  3. Kelly Browning – 80
  4. Paul Clolery – 75
  5. Kristen Lacey – 71
  6. Neal Denton – 69
  7. Jessica Frederick – 65
  8. Dara Richardson-Heron – 62
  9. Mark Hrywna – 61
  10. Andy Segedin – 61
  11. Angela Seaworth – 61
  12. Wally Curran – 58
  13. Jim Schorr – 57
  14. Jamie Kogan – 57
  15. Jacob Harold – 51

Day 9 UPDATE – Final Four

Villanova’s stunning blowout of Oklahoma ended Dara Richardson-Heron’s hopes of an epic comeback to win the NPT Brackets. She had picked Oklahoma over Michigan State in the final so any chance of overtaking Jan Pruitt and Nicole Angresano for the lead ended with the Wildcasts’ second-half shellacking of the Sooners.

Angresano also picked Oklahoma to appear in the final but she had them facing North Carolina. An Oklahoma-Carolina final would have sealed the deal for her. Instead, a Syracuse upset of the Tar Heels would have given the NPT Brackets title to Pruitt. Pruitt also picked Carolina (to face Kansas) in the final but a Syracuse win finally would end potential points for all players, meaning Pruitt would hold on to win.

So with Carolina advancing against Villanova in the championship game, that means:

  • A Villanova win will preserve Pruitt’s three-point lead.
  • A North Carolina win will vault Angresano past Pruitt to NPT Brackets victory.

Kelly Browning is the only other player besides Angresano who can score 32 points on the championship game. He moved into third after securing 16 points thanks to Carolina’s semifinal victory and could finish as high as second if the Tar Heels win the title. Here’s what the standings look like heading into Monday’s nights final:

  1. Jan Pruitt – 99
  2. Nicole Angresano – 96
  3. Kelly Browning – 80
  4. Paul Clolery – 75
  5. Kristen Lacey – 71
  6. Neal Denton – 69
  7. Jessica Frederick – 65
  8. Dara Richardson-Heron – 62
  9. Mark Hrywna – 61
  10. Andy Segedin – 61
  11. Angela Seaworth – 61
  12. Wally Curran – 58
  13. Jim Schorr – 57
  14. Jamie Kogan – 57
  15. Jacob Harold – 51

Day 8 UPDATE

Half the field in the Final Four was somewhat expected, with seven players picking North Carolina and six going with Oklahoma, but nary a soul expected Villanova, much less Syracuse, to be among the last teams standing. Four participants nailed both Oklahoma and North Carolina: Nicole Angresano, Paul Clolery, Jan Pruitt, and Dara Richardson-Heron. But only two have Carolina winning it all: Angresano and Kelly Browning.

Pruitt missed out on a chance to score 8 points solo when No. 1 Virginia fell to No. 10 Syracuse in the Midwest Regional final but she still maintains the lead heading into Final Four weekend:

  1. Jan Pruitt – 83
  2. Nicole Angresano – 80
  3. Paul Clolery – 75
  4. Kristen Lacey – 71
  5. Neal Denton – 69
  6. Jessica Frederick – 65
  7. Kelly Browning – 64
  8. Dara Richardson-Heron – 62
  9. Mark Hrywna – 61
  10. Andy Segedin – 61
  11. Angela Seaworth – 61
  12. Wally Curran – 58
  13. Jim Schorr – 57
  14. Jamie Kogan – 57
  15. Jacob Harold – 51

Three participants still have a chance to capture the 2016 NPT Brackets. As the current leader, Pruitt would win if the status quo remained, meaning she’ll be rooting for teams that no one can score points with: Villanova and/or Syracuse. Angresano has the most potential points still available as she has North Carolina and Oklahoma in the championship game. A North Carolina-Oklahoma title matchup would clinch the NPT Brackets for her regardless of the final game’s outcome. But Oklahoma will be the key because Pruitt also has Carolina advancing to the championship. There’s still one more scenario in play: If Oklahoma defeats Villanova and Syracuse upends Carolina, an Oklahoma win over Syracuse in the final, the winner would be Richardson-Heron.

Day 7 UPDATE

Villanova knocked off Kansas to turn the NPT brackets upside down yet again. Not one person picked Villanova to advance to the Final Four while 10 players chose Kansas, including five picking them to win it all. With Kansas getting knocked out, that also has ended any chances for more points for eight participants.

In the West region final, No. 2 seed Oklahoma was a more popular pick than top-seeded Oregon, with six players taking the Sooners compared with four for the Ducks. Oklahoma will be a key piece to the final results of the NPT Brackets as two players (Paul Clolery and Nicole Angresano) have them slotted in as the eventual runner-up, which could mean an additional 16 points. Dara Richardson-Heron has Oklahoma winning it all – a potential for 48 more points.

Here are the standings after Saturday’s games. Italics indicate those players who have zero points remaining to be scored, and teams in parentheses are the picks still alive for those players:

  1. Jan Pruitt – 75 points (North Carolina, Virginia)
  2. Nicole Angresano – 72 (North Carolina over Oklahoma)
  3. Kristen Lacey – 71
  4. Neal Denton – 69
  5. Paul Clolery – 67 (Oklahoma, North Carolina)
  6. Andy Segedin – 61
  7. Angela Seaworth – 61
  8. Wally Curran – 58
  9. Jim Schorr – 57
  10. Jamie Kogan – 57
  11. Jessica Frederick – 57 (North Carolina)
  12. Kelly Browning – 56 (North Carolina)
  13. Dara Richardson-Heron – 54 (Oklahoma, North Carolina)
  14. Mark Hrywna – 53 (North Carolina)
  15. Jacob Harold – 51

Day 6 UPDATE

Most everyone scored points with North Carolina and Virginia advancing but no one was affected by other games because of so many earlier lower-bracket upsets. Indiana’s loss to Carolina sent home Final Four picks for Angela Seaworth, who was overtaken by Jan Pruitt for the lead. Kristen Lacey was the only other player to pick Indiana advancing past Carolina.

  1. Jan Pruitt – 67 points
  2. Nicole Angresano – 64
  3. Kristen Lacey – 63
  4. Neal Denton – 61
  5. Andy Segedin – 61
  6. Angela Seaworth – 61
  7. Paul Clolery – 59
  8. Wally Curran – 58
  9. Jim Schorr – 57
  10. Jamie Kogan – 57
  11. Jessica Frederick – 57
  12. Kelly Browning – 56
  13. Mark Hrywna – 53
  14. Jacob Harold – 51
  15. Dara Richardson-Heron – 46

Day 5 UPDATE

The first day of the Sweet 16 matchups didn’t see any lower seeds pull off upsets but it still had a significant impact on the NPT Brackets.

Duke was penciled in for at least the Final Four by three players but defending champion Jacob Harold is the first player to see his entire Final Four field eliminated after losses by Duke and Miami. Maryland’s loss to Kansas knocked out a Final Four pick for Kelly Browning and Mark Hrywna, who both had them in the final. Browning only has points remaining with North Carolina.

The Duke-Oregon matchup proved to be a separation game for contestant, who split almost evenly, with seven for Duke and six for Oregon.

Jan Pruitt meanwhile continues to see all four Final Four predictions survive, meaning she has the most potential points still on the table.

  1. Angela Seaworth – 61 points
  2. Jan Pruitt – 59
  3. Kristen Lacey – 59
  4. Neal Denton – 57
  5. Nicole Angresano – 56
  6. Andy Segedin – 53
  7. Jamie Kogan – 53
  8. Paul Clolery – 51
  9. Wally Curran – 50
  10. Jessica Frederick – 49
  11. Jim Schorr – 49
  12. Kelly Browning – 48
  13. Jacob Harold – 47
  14. Mark Hrywna – 45
  15. Dara Richardson-Heron – 38

Day 4 UPDATE

After two rounds of the tournament, nine players have lost half of their Final Four selections and a third of the field has three teams remaining but only Jan Pruitt still has her four-team field in tact. Wisconsin’s buzzer-beating win over Xavier was the swing game of Sunday’s action, with just five players taking Wisconsin compared to 10 who went for Xavier, including Kristen Lacey and Jim Schorr, who had them all the way to the Final Four.

After a promising start, Jamie Kogan is likely to fade, with no points remaining in the East thanks to losses by Kentucky and West Virginia, and Paul Clolery has no more remaining teams in the South region. The Midwest bracket is in shambles, with only a few points potentially remaining for most everyone via top-seed Virginia. Things may look bleak now for Dara Richardson-Heron, currently in last place, but she is among the five players with three teams still in the hunt for the Final Four.

Despite a few early-round upsets, the South and West regions went according to form, with each of the top four seeds now in the Sweet 16. Only Nicole Angresano, Jacob Harold and Angela Seaworth predicted those eight teams correctly.

Seaworth was the leader in Round 2 with 12 correct picks to hold on to the lead heading into Thursday’s Round 3 action:

  1. Angela Seaworth – 49 points
  2. Kristen Lacey – 47
  3. Jamie Kogan – 45
  4. Andy Segedin – 45
  5. Nicole Angresano – 44
  6. Kelly Browning – 44
  7. Paul Clolery – 43
  8. Jacob Harold – 43
  9. Jan Pruitt – 43
  10. Neal Denton – 41
  11. Jessica Frederick – 41
  12. Wally Curran – 38
  13. Mark Hrywna – 37
  14. Jim Schorr – 33
  15. Dara Richardson-Heron – 30

Day 3 UPDATE

The third day of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was a bit calmer than Friday’s shockers but it didn’t end without someone losing another another Final Four pick. Angela Seaworth took over the lead on the strength of a contest-high 7 correct picks (tied with Paul Clolery for the most Day 3 winners) coupled with previous leader Andy Segedin’s low of 2 picks. It also helped that No. 11 Gonzaga upended No. 3 Utah, which was a real swing game, thanks to only three people going for Gonzaga (her, Clolery and Neal Denton). Round 2 games are now worth 2 points.

Another swing game was No. 5 Indiana over No. 4 Kentucky, with only four players going with Indiana compared with 11 for Kentucky. The loss by Kentucky means Denton and Jamie Kogan lost another Final Four pick. Meanwhile, Indiana could be the key to victory for Seaworth, who was the only person to take the Hoosiers to the Final Four.

  1. Angela Seaworth – 39 points
  2. Jamie Kogan – 37
  3. Kristen Lacey – 35
  4. Paul Clolery – 35
  5. Nicole Angresano – 34
  6. Jacob Harold – 33
  7. Kelly Browning – 32
  8. Neal Denton – 31
  9. Jan Pruitt – 31
  10. Andy Segedin – 31
  11. Jessica Frederick – 31
  12. Wally Curran – 30
  13. Mark Hrywna – 29
  14. Jim Schorr – 29
  15. Dara Richardson-Heron – 24

Day 2 UPDATE

Upsets of Michigan State and West Virginia wreaked havoc in the NPT Brackets on the tournament’s second day. Some players lost half of their Final Four predictions. All but one contestant had slotted Michigan State at least into the Final Four (Jan Pruitt went with Virginia). West Virginia’s loss also knocked out three people’s Final Four choice but most players also had the Mountaineers advancing several rounds. Angela Seaworth was the lone contestant to pick Stephen F. Austin and Kristen Lacey had West Virginia advancing just one round; everyone else had them going at least one more round, if not two or more. If not for West Virginia, Lacey’s East bracket would have been 8-0, and same in the South if not for Arizona.

Kudos to Jacob Harold who picked a clean South region bracket in the first round, including Hawaii’s upset of California. That offset a brutal Midwest region – which has been left in tatters for most everyone – where upsets led to just two wins for him.

Through the first round of 32 games, here are our standings:

  1. Andy Segedin – 27 points
  2. Jamie Kogan – 25
  3. Kristen Lacey – 25
  4. Angela Seaworth – 25
  5. Neal Denton – 23
  6. Jessica Frederick – 23
  7. Jacob Harold – 23
  8. Jan Pruitt – 23
  9. Nicole Angresano – 22
  10. Kelly Browning – 22
  11. Paul Clolery – 21
  12. Mark Hrywna – 21
  13. Wally Curran – 20
  14. Jim Schorr – 19
  15. Dara Richardson-Heron – 18

Day 1 UPDATE

It wouldn’t be the first day of a NCAA pool if someone didn’t lose one of their Final Four teams. Baylor and Arizona each devastated a bracket in the NPT bracket challenge. Kelly Browning and Paul Clolery were the only participants to pick Baylor and Arizona, respectively, to the Final Four. Lest you think they were the only ones to suffer casualties on Day 1. Losses by Purdue and Seton Hall also shook up some brackets; nine people had Purdue and six had Seton Hall advancing to at least to the Sweet 16.

Jamie Kogan nearly had a perfect first day, hitting on 15 of 16 games, and the one she missed wasn’t even Purdue’s loss to Arkansas-Little Rock (it was Arizona). Five participants picked Yale to upset Baylor.

  1. Jamie Kogan – 15 points
  2. Kristen Lacey – 14
  3. Nicole Angresano – 13
  4. Jessica Frederick – 13
  5. Andy Segedin – 13
  6. Neal Denton – 12
  7. Jan Pruitt – 12
  8. Angela Seaworth – 11
  9. Kelly Browning – 11
  10. Paul Clolery – 11
  11. Wally Curran – 11
  12. Jacob Harold – 11
  13. Mark Hrywna – 11
  14. Jim Schorr – 10
  15. Dara Richardson-Heron – 9

***

This year’s participants, in alphabetical order:

Nicole Angresano, vice president, community impact, United Way of Greater Milwaukee
West: Oklahoma (2)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: North Carolina over Michigan State

A pretty mellow bracket as far as Cinderallas or major upsets but there is No. 12 over No. 5 Baylor.

Kelly Browning, CEO, American Institute for Cancer Research
West: Baylor (5)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Maryland (5)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: North Carolina over Maryland

Two surprise Sweet 16 participants both come from the Midwest in No. 13 Iona and No. 6 Seton Hall and he’s the only brave soul to back Baylor.

Paul Clolery, editor in chief, The NonProfit Times
West: Oklahoma (2)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Arizona (6)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Michigan State over Oklahoma

No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 7 Wisconsin both reach the Sweet 16 while Kansas is the earliest No. 1 seed to fall, in the regional semi-final. Should he win it’ll be because of Arizona, the only one backing the Wildcats.

Wally Curran, executive director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
West: Duke (4)
East: West Virginia (3)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Michigan State over Kansas

Oregon is the No. 1 seed that gets the least love, falling in the second round to No. 8 St. Joseph’s. No. 6 Seton Hall is a surprise to get to the third round in the Midwest.

Neal Denton, senior vice president, government relations and policy, YMCA
West: Oklahoma (2)
East: Kentucky (4)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Kansas over Michigan State

The only one going out on a limb with No. 14 Buffalo over No. 3 Miami. There’s No. 11 Northern Iowa in a first round upset of No. 6 Texas but No. 11 Gonzaga going one better and reaching the Sweet 16.

Jessica Frederick, development and communications manager, Seattle Works
West: Texas A&M (3)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Michigan State over Kansas

She must hate No. 6 seeds — all four of which bow out in round one — but No. 7 Wisconsin is the lowest seed to reach the Sweet 16.

Jacob Harold, president and CEO, GuideStar
West: Duke (4)
East: West Virginia (3)
South: Miami (3)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Duke over Michigan State

The reigning NPT Brackets champion on the back of alma mater, Duke, he’s sticking with the Blue Devils again. In addition to first-round upsets by No. 13s Hawaii and Iona, and No. 11 Wichita State, No. 6 Seton Hall will last to the regional semifinal, and No. Miami will be key to victory as he’s the only one to have them among the Final Four.

Mark Hrywna, senior editor, The NonProfit Times
West: Oregon (1)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Maryland (5)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Michigan State over Maryland

No. 12’s Chattanooga and Yale, and No. 13 Iona, post first-round shockers while No. 6 Texas reaches the West final.

Jamie Kogan, managing director, Step Up
West: Oregon (1)
East: Kentucky (4)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Kansas over Michigan State

Another participant picking Yale to shock Baylor, this one is the lone bracket backing No. 12 Arkansas-Little Rock over Purdue and one of the few to take No. 3 Texas A&M all the way to West final.

Kristen Lacey, senior director of brand marketing, Save The Children
West: Oklahoma (2)
East: Xavier (2)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Kansas over Xavier

There are No. 12 Yale and No. 13 Hawaii in first round upsets but No. 5 Indiana reaches the East final, with wins over Kentucky and North Carolina.

Jan Pruitt, president and CEO, North Texas Food Bank
West: Oklahoma (2)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Virginia (1)
Final: Kansas over North Carolina

A few upsets, like Yale over Baylor and Syracuse over Dayton, until you get to the East where Pruitt rides No. 7 Wisconsin to the regional final. She’s also contrarian when it comes to the Midwest, where she’s the only one to pick Virginia instead of Michigan State.

Dara Richardson-Heron, president and CEO, YWCA
West: Oklahoma (2)
East: North Carolina (1)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Oklahoma over Michigan State

This would be a history-making bracket if No. 16 Holy Cross shocks No. 1 Oregon. Richardson-Heron is the only participant to go with Oklahoma winning it all.

Jim Schorr, president/CEO, Social Enterprise Alliance
West: Oregon (1)
East: Xavier (2)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Kansas over Michigan State

There are few surprises on this bracket but Schorr also is on board with the Iona and Seton Hall bandwagons to the Sweet 16.

Angela Seaworth, director, Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Rice University
West: Duke (4)
East: Indiana (5)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest: Michigan State (2)
Final: Michigan State over Kansas

Another pick to have Oregon lose early, this time in the second round to No. 8 St. Joseph’s. There’s also No. 13 Hawaii upending No. 5 Cal, and another No. 5, Purdue, dispatching No. 1 Virginia.

Andy Segedin, staff writer, The NonProfit Times
West: Oregon (1)
East: West Virginia (3)
South: Kansas (1)
Midwest:  Michigan State (2)
Final: Michigan State over Kansas

No. 11 Wichita State gets as far as the South final before falling to Kansas and some early upsets include No. 11 Northern Iowa and No. 13 Iona and No. 13 Hawaii.