Using ChatGPT to fill out a bracket...

I saw CNET did this and was curious. I'm in a $5 bracket with some friends and family and asked ChatGPT to give me their picks and scores for the entire tournament with some well placed upsets and gonna go with exactly what they have and see how it ends up doing...some of these I don't buy but it's just an exercise so we'll see.

Some noteworthy picks by AI:

  • Akron over Arizona by 4
  • Drake over Missouri by 2
  • Texas Tech over UNCW but only by 1
  • Purdue over High Point by 25 (weird but whatever)
  • Michigan over UCSD by 15 (popular upset pick)
  • San Diego State over Ol' Miss by 10
  • Marquette over New Mexico by 14
  • St. Mary's beating Alabama by 2 in round of 32
  • Memphis over Maryland in round of 32
  • Drake over TT by 3 in round of 32
  • Kansas over St. John's by 12 in round of 32
  • ISU over SDSU by 3 in round of 32
  • Marquette over Michigan State by 6 in round of 32
  • Kansas over Drake by a lot in Sweet 16
  • ISU over Marquette by 2 in Sweet 16
  • Auburn over ISU by 4 in Elite 8
  • FF: Auburn/Florida/Duke/Houston which is all #1 seeds but whatever
  • Florida over Houston for title

Cyclone Fanatic NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview Show

Connor Ferguson and Rob Gray dive into Iowa State’s draw, the Princeton matchup, the rest of the region, and expectations for the Cyclones ahead of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.


2025 Iowa's Best Burger

Top 10 dropped today.


One of my favorite places in my neck of the woods (Dan's in Cresco) made the cut. It's legitimately one of the best burgers I've ever had. They sold like 21,000 burger baskets in the first year they were open. If you're heading up to the Driftless Area to canoe or bike this summer, it's definitely worth the stop.

Trendy upset picks you aren’t buying? Upsets you think will happen?

What are some trendy upset picks you see but aren’t buying? Others not many are taking about but you think can happen?

I can see many still on the Drake bandwagon. Missouri is not as good as a few weeks ago but I still think Tigers win.

A&M will not lose to Yale.

Clemson won’t lose to McNeese

I’m not picking it but I think UNCW will give Tech fits.

I do think VCU beats BYU

Also leaning towards Akron over AZ

CSU over Mem is an easy pick to me

***2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships (Basic Info Thread)***

I plan on doing session-specific threads with more detail, so this one is just for general information as Philly approaches.

SESSIONDAY/TIME (CT)ROUNDS/BOUTSCOVERAGE
1Thursday, 11 a.m.Pigtails (1-10)
Champ R32 (11-170)
ESPNU and ESPN+
2Thursday, 6 p.m.Conso pigtails (171-180)
Champ R16 (181-260)
Conso R32 (261-340)
ESPN and ESPN+
3Friday, 11 a.m.Quarterfinals (341-380)
Conso R24 (381-460)
Conso R16 (461-500)
ESPNU and ESPN+
4Friday, 7 p.m.Semifinals (501-520)
Conso R12 (521-560)
Conso R8 (561-580)
ESPN2 and ESPN+
5Saturday, 10 a.m.Conso R6 (581-600)
3rd/5th/7th (601-630)
ESPNU and ESPN+
6Saturday, 6 p.m.Finals (631-640)ESPN and ESPN+

STREAMING: ESPN+ options include individual mats, a Matcast feed, (which I think is just scores), and the TV simulcast.

LIVE RESULTS: TrackWrestling

PRELIMINARY BRACKETS (PDF)

PROJECTED POINT TOTALS BASED ON SEED
PLTEAMPTSQUALS
1Penn State15710
2Iowa709
3Oklahoma State689
4Nebraska629
5Virginia Tech609
6Minnesota49.59
t7Cornell4610
t7Northern Iowa4610
9Michigan407
10Illinois38.58
19Iowa State208

Let Him Cook: NCAA Tournament Preview Show

Dylan Coon and Nigel Dyson react to Keshon Gilbert being ruled out before diving into Iowa State’s region and the rest of the NCAA Tournament. Final Four picks and more.


Williams & Blum: Keshon Gilbert shut down, reacting to draws for Cyclone Men and Women

Chris Williams and Brent Blum react to the news of Keshon Gilbert being out for the remainder of the season before diving into the NCAA Tournament bracket and each respective draw for the Iowa State Men and Women. Presented by Mechdyne.


Tamin Lipsey's back, but Keshon Gilbert won't be for third-seeded ISU in the NCAA Tournament

  • Poll
adjusted tourney expectations with KG injury

adjusted tourney expectations with KG injury

  • zero wins

    Votes: 2 0.4%
  • round of 32

    Votes: 81 14.7%
  • sweet 16

    Votes: 352 63.9%
  • (still) eilte 8

    Votes: 89 16.2%
  • beyond (you are a fool to expect this)

    Votes: 27 4.9%

adjusted tourney expectations with KG injury
Going into this season most fans thought anything less than an an elite 8 would have been a disappointment. Now that we know ISU will be down KG, what do you expect this tourney?

*elite

  • Locked
Keshon Gilbert

I saw the interview where Keshon said his injury has been bothering him since the first conference game. TJ said it affects his ability to accelerate and pushoff...... this explains A LOT.
So I just want to say THANK YOU Keshon. My heart breaks for you not being able to finish your senior year. Loved you as a cyclone, will be following your future career!

2024 U.S. Census county population estimates

I always find this kind of stuff interesting every spring when they release yearly population estimates. Figured that based on the popularity of the geography thread earlier this year, there might be interest in this as well. City and metro estimates usually follow in May.

Iowa now has eight counties with more than 100,000 residents (and one that's very close).

Polk 515,185
Linn 231,762
Scott 175,601
Johnson 160,080
Black Hawk 132,348
Dallas 115,343
Woodbury 107,257
Story 102,498
(Dubuque 99,242)


The link for all counties in all states (state by state) is here:


By comparison, California has ten counties with over 1,000,000 residents each.

Big12 Tournament Mid-season?

With all the injuries that have hit the top teams this year got me questioning, should the Big12 move the conference tournament to mid-season? Back to back to back high intensity games that come from a conference tournament are going to naturally create more injuries as players get tired. If the NCAA is the goal, why put them through that the week before the tournament?

Still award the tournament winner an auto bid, but do it at the end of January or even get crazy and open the season with it.

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