Whew, that was an exhausting weekend, both for the Vols and their fans, as well as for anyone who filled out a bracket.
Here are the standings in the Gameday on Rocky Top 2018 Bracket Tourney Pool after the first weekend:
| Rank | Owner | Bracket | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Semis | Finals | Points | Possible Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken | Ingleside Hills | 23 | 24 | - | - | - | Virginia | 47 | 99 |
| 2 | Sherry | My Expert Bracket | 25 | 18 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 43 | 91 |
| 2 | Tyler | Tyler's Perfect Bracket | 25 | 18 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 43 | 103 |
| 4 | Joel | Joel @ GRT's Bracket | 24 | 18 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 42 | 106 |
| 5 | Nate | Nate Kaelin2 | 25 | 16 | - | - | - | Virginia | 41 | 85 |
| 5 | Jeremy | LTVol99's Bracket | 23 | 18 | - | - | - | Virginia | 41 | 97 |
| 5 | Harley | Vol Harley | 23 | 18 | - | - | - | Villanova | 41 | 121 |
| 8 | Chase | Chase | 22 | 18 | - | - | - | Purdue | 40 | 136 |
| 9 | Pete | Memphis ain't Playin' | 23 | 16 | - | - | - | Virginia | 39 | 87 |
| 9 | evanj | The BasketVols | 21 | 18 | - | - | - | Michigan St. | 39 | 63 |
| 11 | frankie phillips | frankie phillips's Bracket | 22 | 16 | - | - | - | Xavier | 38 | 62 |
| 11 | Andrew | CNYVOL73 | 22 | 16 | - | - | - | Villanova | 38 | 118 |
| 11 | David | Jet Flyin' | 24 | 14 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 38 | 86 |
| 11 | michael | ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | 22 | 16 | - | - | - | Villanova | 38 | 106 |
| 15 | Bryant | Steve 'The Hammer' Hamer Lives | 21 | 16 | - | - | - | Duke | 37 | 129 |
| 15 | Ronald | My Superb Bracket | 23 | 14 | - | - | - | Michigan St. | 37 | 57 |
| 17 | Fred | Fred's First-Class Bracket | 24 | 12 | - | - | - | Duke | 36 | 116 |
| 17 | David | David's Dazzling Bracket | 22 | 14 | - | - | - | Michigan St. | 36 | 72 |
| 17 | David Strunk | Strunk's Bracket | 22 | 14 | - | - | - | Michigan St. | 36 | 88 |
| 17 | OZ | OZ4UT | 20 | 16 | - | - | - | Virginia | 36 | 76 |
| 17 | Mark | Mark's Matchless Bracket | 20 | 16 | - | - | - | Villanova | 36 | 116 |
| 22 | Emily | Emily's Amazing Bracket | 21 | 14 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 35 | 95 |
| 22 | Jimmy | Jimmy's Swag Bracket | 21 | 14 | - | - | - | Michigan St. | 35 | 55 |
| 24 | Isaac | The Winning Bracket | 22 | 12 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 34 | 94 |
| 24 | brenna | UTalltheway | 22 | 12 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 34 | 70 |
| 26 | Dawn | Don't Pick Us | 20 | 12 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 32 | 52 |
| 26 | jrandrewsiv | My Out-of-Sight Bracket | 20 | 12 | - | - | - | Duke | 32 | 112 |
| 28 | Will | *Will Shelton | 19 | 12 | - | - | - | Tennessee | 31 | 79 |
| 29 | cbesch1003 | Bruce Pearl's BBQ | 17 | 12 | - | - | - | Villanova | 29 | 121 |
Oof. There’s a whole lotta Tennessee in those finals columns, and you have to get a ways down the list to Harley and Chase to find someone with a viable champion. The way things are going, however, we’re going to have a Final Four of Loyola-Chicago, Florida State, West Virginia, and Syracuse, so everyone will be humbled in the end. Woo.
Whatever you do, don’t look at the path to the Final Four from the Vols’ old bracket. The top four seeds are all gone, and the five seed is a hated rival in blue who must contend only with, at best, a nine and a seven before the Elite Eight. And in that round, both the one and two seeds are already gone. Like I said, oof.