The Office Pool

For those of you new to the NCAA bracket game, kenpom.com is an excellent tool to put you under par in the office pool. I can't guarantee you the win, but at least you won't embarrass yourself by losing to Janice, the overweight secretary with the hands-free headset, too much rouge and an oversize jar of M&Ms on her desk . . . she picked Bucknell to go to the Final Four because her cousin's daughter went there and she likes the color of their uniforms.

Kenpom.com ranks teams by factoring in typical RPI minutia such as strength of schedule and quality wins but separates itself from other ranking systems by favoring experience. Teams like Texas and Kentucky that rely heavily on freshmen, for example, take a hit in his poll from the likes of Duke and Ohio State.

This isn't to say that young teams can't make a run . . . they absolutely can. Derrick Rose brought a young Calipari-led Memphis team one bad coaching decision away from a national title. Carmelo finished the job. The Fab 5 made the finals two years in a row, losing to Grant Hill's undefeated flat top in '92 and then to a less-talented tar heel team featuring Eric Montross and a red-hot Donald Williams in '93.

Kenpom has been the most accurate predictor of tournament success since 2003. Certainly much more than RPI rankings or the often baffling tournament selection committee. (UAB?!?)

If you're in a tournament pool that gives equal points for picking favorites over upsets and vice versa, you need to find a new group of friends/co-workers. If you follow hoops and they don't then you're shooting half court shots while they are shooting college threes. It levels the playing field. It gives Janice a puncher's chance.

As for me, I will be filling out my bracket using a combo of Kenpom, common sense, and nostalgia for Baby Blue #33. Go Sycamores, but remember what the worst coach in Celtics history said. "Larry Bird is not walking through that door".

And, because its Monday, and I refuse to acknowledge these ridiculous play-in games, I give you the best of Gus to hold you over until Thursday afternoon.

THE SLIPPER STILL FITS!!!!!