Sigh. We have a new National Champion, and it is NOT the one I was hoping for, at least. Don’t get me wrong, Baylor is a great team made up of so many grown-&$* men who just seemed to have their way with Gonzaga (and Houston, for that matter). They were very impressive. And massive. And such good shooters. And they are well-coached by - from all accounts - a lovely, nice human in Scott Drew. And had the Bears not been plagued with some Covid issues this season, they might have been even better during the regular season. But, I also have a very hard time reconciling with Baylor University, as do many others. I don’t like that institution. One bit.

And there’s this.

Moving on! It’s time to wrap up the bracket challenge. And with Baylor’s win and a grand total of 1420 points, I can officially crown:

Jimbo Houston is the 2021 ROCK M NATION BRACKET CHALLENGE WINNER!!!!!

Your prize? This celebration gif. Congrats, good sir.

As for the rest of you, here’s the top 24 finishes. Sorry, that’s a weird number, i know, but screenshotting can only go so far. If you’d like to see the full results, you can view it here.

How did the Rock M staff fare? Well, with Baylor’s win — ew — Kortay is the highest finisher amongst our staff, so a hearty congrats to him.

So, how’d you do? I recognize some familiar commenter names in here (apologies if I’m missing some)— RunMizzou11 in 13th, jst in 29th, Dirk 98-02 in 33rd, Canis Lupus in 50th, Earl Billings & my coworker Jakob in 54th, Ajhahn & Ausgiano in 63rd, dezeerae in 77th, drewder in 79th, kristina in 90th, Coinaster in 93rd, Oscar in 98th, and DBH in 107th.... Oh, and my parents in 18th (dad) and 112th place (mom). Just as I was convinced the Zags were a Team of Destiny, so (apparently) did many of you and we suffered because of it. Tough break for them.

Wasn’t it nice to have the tournament back? Even if it didn’t go well for Mizzou? Can’t wait ‘til next season.

Until then, M-I-Z.

Karen Steger Designs