It's been a month since Conference Tournament 1 began, and these teams don't seem to have a whole lot of support from their fans and hometown communities. With only 41 total votes and two weeks left of gameplay, it really could be anyone's game.
Welcome to ECI8's March Sadness Bracketology Report. The competition is in full swing, and teams across every tournament are vying for a top spot in an effort to win a brand new HVAC unit worth up to $20,000.
Let's take a look at how the teams in Conference Tournament 1 are doing. You can also watch the video recap from ECI8 below.
Who is the projected #1 or #2 seed from this tournament?
Team Ross of Levittown, Pa. is currently in 1st place with 51.2% of the votes. Their air conditioning system is 20 years old and has been broken for about three years...but that's not even the worst part. The air handler is sealed up in the crawl space, so they can't even fix it without going through the ceiling.
They say out of sight, out of mind, but it’s hard to ignore having no AC in the middle of a humid Pennsylvania summer! Luckily, if they stay in 1st place in this tournament, they will receive a top seed # in the final March Sadness tournament. This means that they'll be matched up with a top team in the NCAA March Madness tournament and have a great chance at winning a brand new air conditioning system.
How does the top seed compare to the top seeds in the other tournaments?
Out of the top seeds so far, Team Ross ranks last as far as highest percentage of total votes. To compare, Team Hot And Heavy has 56.9% of the tournament votes. Team Half A Century Old has 60.9% of their tournament votes. Team Up In Smoke has 80.0% of the tournament votes. Team We Need A Break has 82.6% of the tournament votes. Team Baby Ice has 93.1% of the votes.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the other top teams are doing better than Team Ross. Percentage of votes depends on how many fans are actually watching and voting in the tournament. Ultimately, our well-trained Selection Committee will determine seed placements based on multiple factors. While number of votes is the main factor, other team attributes will play a role.
What team has the possibility of improving its ranking?
Team Love Not War of Philadelphia, Pa. is in 2nd place with 37.5% of the tournament votes. If the fans upped their participation just a little more, it's possible that we could see an upset. This team is desperate for a new unit -- their current window AC unit is loud, ugly, enormous, dangerous, heavy, and inefficient. If they want the prize bad enough, we may see them move up in the rankings.
Of the struggling teams, which loss might be most damaging?
Team Cold Nights, also in Philadelphia, is in 3rd place with 7.5% of the votes. This boiler is 30 years old but, honestly, looks more like 300. The team hasn't had heat since December when it stopped working on a 17-degree night! Plus, the owner is a disabled vet. Our bracketology team predicts that this team's lack of votes could be very damaging for the final tournament. Even though other factors will play into Team Cold Night's seed placement, more votes are still needed. And this team is definitely deserving of a free replacement.
Finally, there's Team Ready To Retire of South Philly who, sadly, only has 2.5% of the tournament votes. This unit is almost 70 years old -- much past the average player retirement age. Unfortunately, the team's fanbase is not showing up, and we're not sure that there's much they can do at this point.
Come back throughout the week to look at our bracketology updates for the other tournaments.
Want your own chance to win a new HVAC unit? Enter below!
