Ode to Gus Johnson

After watching replays of George Mason’s thrilling finish over Villanova last week, I realized why there was heightened excitement compared to other games last weekend. The most underrated play by play announcer in sports today was calling the game, Gus Johnson. While he is not a household name, like Al Michaels or Marv Albert, and you would not recognize him walking down the street, like John Madden or Charles Barkley, you would recognize his voice.

His exciting style turns any bucket into a game winner, while monotone Joe Buck could turn a World Series winning homerun into a snoozefest. While Johnson is noted mostly for his NCAA basketball coverage for CBS, he also announces NFL games including these memorable endings recently:

Last year, he was the voice of the Madden videogame and now even has a soundboard for his famous catch phrases. I want him around announcing my life… “Here comes the email, count it!” “The laundry is done, unbelievable!”

NCAA March Madness Bracket Tips

When looking at the last eight NCAA tournaments mathematically, there are some striking trends.

In the first round:

#12 seeds upset the #5 seeds 14 of 32 possible times, or 44%

22% of #4 seeds go down

Meanwhile only 6% of #3 seeds lose their first game

In the second round:

More #5 seeds make the sweet 16 than #4 seeds, (15 to 10)

Only 3 (or 9%) of #1 seeds were upset

Meanwhile 38% of #2 seeds have been upset by the #7/#10 winner

Only 5 times (or 16%) has a region gone #1, #2, #3, #4

Sweet 16 round:

78% of #1 seeds make the elite eight

On the other side of the region, 78% are either #2 or #3 seeds

Elite Eight round:

Only one time in 30 years of the 64 team bracket has all four #1 seeds made the Final Four

44% of #1 seeds make the Final Four

#2 seeds make it 25% of the time

If you add up all the seeds that make the final four, the average total is 9.25. Meaning if you pick all #1 seeds, that’s less than half the average, or if you throw in a #11 George Mason with a #3, #2, and #1, that’s double the average.

Now, which teams are going to be in those spots/upsets? Good luck!