Chip Shots by Chip Griffin

Wisdom of the Crowds Worked with NCAA Bracket Picking

ByChip Griffin

It turns out that relying on the masses to help you pick your NCAA bracket can work.  As I explained before, I made my picks for March Madness this year based on what the majority of CBS Sportsline users had done.  Since I generally stink at this stuff, I figured I had nothing to lose.

With Florida now crowned champion, I can tell you that I finished second out of 106 entries in the pool I participated in.  That’s my highest finish ever.  I don’t fully understand the formula, but I think the main reason I didn’t win was because the guy ahead of me correctly picked the VCU upset over Duke and you got more points for picking upsets.  But we both picked the outcome of 50 games correctly (though not the same 50).

Going in, my belief had been that wisdom of the crowds might work with experts, but not as much with the general population.  I guess I may have to reconsider that given my success here.  Of course, one entry doesn’t really make for a scientific experiment, but that’s OK. 

Drinks are on me!

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