We are still a week away from the release of the 2020 NCAA Tournament bracket, but the 2020 College Basketball Tournament of Names is well underway. Keep the votes coming!
The first round had some real drama. In the Fanny Wadling region, #8 Higginbottom, #11 Buie, and #12 Boxus all snuck by with just over 50% of the votes, while #13 Trip Day pulled a major upset over #4 Sammy Friday IV. Boxus vs. Day will be the first #12 vs. #13 matchup in Tournament of Names history.
The chalk prevailed elsewhere, with #10 Mysta Goodloe and #9 Miles Lightfoot being the only upsets in the Treasure Hunt and Forever Toppin regions, respectively. The Cali Weed region did not see a single upset, but #8 Tanner DeKock advanced on a higher seed tiebreaker vs. #9 Kofi Cockburn.
Here are some of the most anticipated second round matchups:
#1 Shabooty Phillips vs. #8 Tanner DeKock, Cali Weed Region – The juvenile matchups are almost done, but this is one I think we all wanted to see.
#5 A.J. Cheeseman vs. #4 D.K. Sumo IV, Cali Weed Region – The Cheeseman vs. the Sumo is a classic Tournament of Names battle. The fact that both first names are abbreviated is a fun coincidence.
#5 Kenneth Castleberry Jr. vs. #4 Rudy Fitzgibbons III, Treasure Hunt Region – Family lineage is strong in this one. Let’s hope somewhere down the road we get Castleberry VIII vs. Fitzgibbons IX.
#6 P.J. Pipes vs. #3 Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Treasure Hunt Region – Two returning names square off in what should be a close encounter. P.J. has waited two years to redeem himself from a second round loss in the inaugural tournament and I will be driving his bandwagon.
#7 Pauly Paulicap vs. #2 Ebube Ebube, Forever Toppin Region – Here’s the clash I was most looking forward to. Two returners, two players from Manhattan, two names that sound very redundant. I’m a little upset that Pauly survived #10 Hnric Murray Jr. in the first round, but Paulicap vs. Ebube seems like destiny.
Here is an updated version of the bracket: 2020 CBTON Second Round Update
Vote on the second round here: 2020 CBTON Second Round Voting
