Busting Brackets Fantasy March Madness Tournament
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Busting Brackets March Madness Fantasy Final Round
Losers Bracket Result
#1 Team Tondamantham at #3 Team Bennett
It was bound to happen at some point, and it happened when it was needed the most. Team Bennett put together a trio of guards that all have the ability to take over a game, but no one seized the opportunity until Hield got loose against Trimble in the first half, causing Brogdon to switch onto Heild in the second half. This allowed Grant to take over and lead Team Bennett to victory.
Team Bennett 86, Team Tonda 72
Championship Game
#7 Team Rude at #3 Team Bennett
The championship comes down to this. It’s the Cinderella story of Team Rude against the devastating offensive lineup of Team Bennett. Team Bennett will have to win two games to take the title while Team Rude must only win once. As the higher seed, Team Bennett will play game one at home, but must clinch the championship on the road in the next game.
Game one was a route from the start. Towns made his case to be picked ahead of Okafor in the 2015 NBA Draft a personal one, scoring at will on one end of the floor and frequently stopping Okafor at the other. However, nothing Towns could do was enough to make up for the distinct advantages Team Bennett had in the backcourt. VanVleet and Cook were completely over-matched in attempting to guard Heild and Grant. Winslow held his own defensively against Wells, but his offense failed him.
Team Bennett 80, Team Rude 60
The deciding game of the tournament shifted to the home court of Team Rude, Assembly Hall on the campus of Indiana University. Fresh off their first loss of the tournament, the atmosphere in the arena was tense. The IU fan base tasked with providing a homecourt advantage had other things on their mind before the tip.
After a 20-point defeat, rumblings started about whether or not Shaka Smart was the right coach for Team Rude. After watching Cook get exposed in game one, their was chatter about the questionable decision to include him on the roster. Going into the game, it was clear the IU fans were treating Team Rude the same way that they have treated Tom Crean and his Hoosiers through their recent skid. When the going got tough for Crean and his team, Assembly Hall turned on him.
When Team Rude showed up at Assembly Hall, ready to clinch the title in their FIRST home game of the tournament…there was no home court advantage to be had. Team Bennett felt no pressure from the crowd, and despite another dominant performance from Towns, the road team was able to stay close throughout the game. Cook and Winslow, fresh off of bad games, looked lackadaisical. The energy they should have gotten from their home crowd was absent. In the last seconds, it was Grant who drove past Cook for a game-winning bucket, winning the championship for Team Bennett. Team Rude may have been better off playing on the road.
Team Bennett 87, Team Rude 86
All-Tournament Team
- Delon Wright, Team Tran
- Jerian Grant, Team Bennett
- Dez Wells, Team Bennett
- Frank Kaminsky, Team Sherman
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Team Rude
Tournament MVP
Karl-Anthony Towns