Photo: NUIM.net
It ain’t exactly the NCAA’s Big Dance, but to a large portion of students, the intramural basketball playoffs mean more. And if that’s you, you’re in the right spot. By now, you’ve probably dissected and analyzed every corner of the tournament, every hypothetical matchup, and every possible scenario to put your squad in the finals, hosted at Welsh-Ryan arena. Unfortunately, you might be delusional. That’s where we come in. Behold, the full breakdown of who’s a player and who’s a poser in this year’s IM playoffs. For the full brackets and mathematical power rankings, hit the official NUIM web site.
PURPLE LEAGUE
Perculatin’ Region
The Favorite: #1 Perculatin’
The Competition: #5 Lodge
The Sleeper: #4 Old Balls
Finals Pick: #1 Perculatin’
There’s absolutely no reason to doubt that Perculatin’ will cruise through the playoffs to another Purple league title game. Their first round game will be a joke, and then they play either Old Balls, who they handled last Sunday, or Lodge, who has yet to win a game beyond a forfeit.
ZBT Region
The Favorite: #2 ZBT
The Competition: #3 Pike Garnet
The Sleeper: #6 MJR
Finals Pick: #3 Pike Garnet
I know, I’m a sucker for making this pick, because Pike always self-destructs in the postseason. But I’m a believer in this year’s team. Finally junior guard Pat Garvin has other scoring options to lean on, and the addition of Terrance Brown is a big deal.
WHITE LEAGUE
Dazzling Rainbows Region
Region Strength (1-4): 4
The Favorite: #1 Dazzling Rainbows
The Contenders: #16 Footprints in the Jungle, #8 E3
The Sleeper: #40 Mat Sci 1
1st-Round Upset Special: #48 Destiny’s Childs over #17 Iso YY
Quarterfinals Match-up Pick: #1 Dazzling Rainbows vs. #8 E3
Final Four Pick: #1 Dazzling Rainbows
The best matchup in this region (and maybe the tournament), assuming the favorites win out, will be the Rainbows versus the Footprints. The winner should have no trouble with the bottom half of the bracket, the weakest part of the entire 64-team field.
Deep Friars Region
Region Strength (1-4): 1
The Favorite: #5 Evans Scholars
The Contenders: #4 Deep Friars, #12 Sigma Chi, #20 Minority Report
The Sleeper: #21 JKFLB
1st-Round Upset Special: #52 EQ Ballers over #13 PHIve Duge Hicks
Quarterfinals Match-up Pick: #5 Evans Scholars vs. #20 Minority Report
Final Four Pick: #5 Evans Scholars
This region probably will not produce the eventual champion, but it is by far the deepest, top to bottom. 5 teams in this part of the bracket were ranked at some point in The Post’s Top 10 this season, and others, like PHIve Duge Hicks and DU me in the asquatch 1, think they have a chance to make a run.
Beastmode Region
Region Strength (1-4): 2
The Favorite: #18 The Family Institute
The Contenders: #2 Beastmode, #7 The Fighting Chabraja’s
The Sleeper: #10 Dynamic Mechanisms
1st-Round Upset Special: #50 Fighting Quakers over #15 ZBT
Quarterfinals Match-up Pick: #7 The Fighting Chabraja’s vs. #18 The Family Institute
Final Four Pick: #18 The Family Institute
The Quakers are 2-0 against ZBT teams so far this season, including a 32-18 blowout win over ZBT2. I won’t go against history here. The Quakers likely consolation prize? A date with The Family Institute in round two. Yikes!
SAE Zed Region
Region Strength (1-4): 3
The Favorite: #3 SAE Zed
The Contenders: #6 Jersey Shore Blowouts, #22 Beta A, #19 Twine Flu presented by Golden Olympic
The Sleeper: #30 Maybe She Likes It
1st-Round Upset Special: None
Quarterfinals Match-up Pick: #3 SAE Zed vs. #22 Beta A
Final Four Pick: #22 Beta A
SAE’s region is wide open. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of the teams favored in round one make it all the way to the Elite 8 or Final 4. With no powerhouses lurking with low seeds (like Family Institute or Footprints in other regions), Beta’s A team might quietly march into the semis.
CO-REC LEAGUE
Barring a miracle, the finals will be Treemeisters vs. Sig Ep/KD. The rest of the co-rec playoffs will be “cute” and “fun” but essentially meaningless. None more need be said.
