Join the 'Beat The Beat Writer' March Madness NCAA Tournament bracket challenge
Adam Jardy
Let's be honest: You know that you probably know more about college basketball than me.
Yes, it's my job as the Ohio State men's basketball beat writer for The Columbus Dispatch to cover the sport year-round. When others are poring over two-deeps or line changes or pitcher-catcher batteries, I'm analyzing lineup rotations, spending free time mining KenPom.com for insights and generally counting down the days to whenever the next basketball game will take place.
You could say basketball is a passion of mine. Which is why my complete inability to ever fill out an even halfway decent March Madness bracket remains one of the more annually consistently hilarious outcomes.
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Just look at last year. In the annual "Beat the Beat Writer" bracket challenge, I not only didn't win, I didn't even win among the members of my household. Both of my sons, who are now 8 and 5, respectively, finished well ahead of their supposed "basketball expert father." I picked Gonzaga to win it all, accurately nailed exactly zero of the Final Four teams (thanks a lot, Iowa) and checked in at 84th overall.
And yet, hope springs eternal. Maybe this will be the year I channel my inner St. Peter's or Loyola Chicago (or Oral Roberts) and find myself making a surprisingly deep run through the NCAA Tournament.
But probably not. Eight seasons into my tenure on the Ohio State beat, and I still haven't figured this out. That's where you come in.
Sign up today for the "Beat the Beat Writer" bracket challenge and prove to the world that, yes, you do know more about college basketball than someone whose job is literally to focus on the sport year-round. It's free, it's easy and perhaps best of all: if you win, you can come on the BuckeyeXtra Men's Basketball Podcast and tell the world how great you are and how awful I am.
It's simple: just click here. And let the gloating begin!
(I think I'm picking Houston to win it all. Or maybe Marquette.)