2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 64 (Part 8)

Just four series remain as we finish out the Round of 64 of the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions!

12 of the 16 matchups for the next round are now set in stone. We had a couple more first round upsets in the last set of games, including a series that went the distance and a game that was easily the highest scoring of the tournament.

As we finish this round out, three of our four one seeds will finally get their series covered, as well the two-time Champion of Champions. Hopefully this round will be able to finish with some dramatic finishes as well.

The up to date bracket, scores, and results from Group Play can be found here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 6

The coalition returns for Week 6 of the NFL season, and I think it's official: The Great Reversal has begun.

I say this mainly because it was a pretty rough week for the group as a whole. No one finished above .500 for the week, a couple folks are now below .500 for the season, and yet just seven games separate first from last place. This bears out what happened in the column last week: Joe and I split our two disputed games, while Adam narrowly won the week, taking five of nine from each of us.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. As you would figure from the nine disputed games figure, Adam had several hero picks this week, but he ended up missing on a couple. As tends to be the case, his volume is higher than the rest of the group and he's hit on enough that it's helped him to first place. I hit on my first hero win of the season (albeit in a much smaller sample size). Meanwhile our consensus game rate remains at just a hair over .500.

So as we look ahead to this week, Adam and I disagree on seven games, Joe and I on four, and the two of them on five out of 15. Let's get to it!

2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 64 (Part 7)

We're coming up to the end of the Round of 64 of the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions, and in the last set of games, chalk went back to prevailing.

I'm not super surprised that most of the series we've done in this round so far have largely adhered to chalk. Just one five seed and two six seeds have advanced to the Round of 32 to this point. In terms of competitiveness, just three series so far have gone the full seven games and only six others have gone as many as six games.

Eight matchups for the next round of games are determined, and we'll set up four more in today's post.

The up to date bracket, scores, and results from Group Play can be found here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 64 (Part 6)

Four second round matchups are determined, and today we set four more as we continue with the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions!

After the first half of the round saw only one lower seed advance, in the last batch we did we had two, including the defending Champion of Champions in the 1985 Lakers. So far two of the three upsets have been by six seeds, with the other being a five seed.

The current second round matchups that are set in stone look to be pretty good, and hopefully we'll have four more that look to be just as compelling once these games are completed.

The up to date bracket, scores, and results from Group Play can be found here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 64 (Part 5)

Half of the Round of 64 is done. Let's get moving on the second half of this round of the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions!

Of the 16 rounds that we've simulated so far, 15 of them have been won by the higher seed, most of them well short of the full seven. The biggest surprise to date was the 1995 Rockets falling in five; they were the highest seeded 3rd place team and won the consolation bracket in the 2016 tournament, and after a 15-5 group play resume, they fall almost immediately.

Initially by happenstance, then in the last part by design, I haven't simulated series yet such that we know what any of the Round of 32 matchups are yet. We'll know what four of the 16 will be following the conclusion of these series.

The up to date bracket, scores, and results from Group Play can be found here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 5

The coalition is back at it for Week 5 of the NFL season! Bye weeks finally come into play, and part of me wonders if Adam's theory of The Great Reversal has hit for the season yet.

Maybe that's just me rationalizing after the fact. Despite me having a wonderful oh-for-the-early-slate, I rebounded enough so that Adam only took four of seven disputed games from me; he took three of five from Joe, and Joe and I split our six disputed games last week.

My first sub-.500 week of the year drops me four games back of the lead at this early stage, yet I'm still in a big group tied for second. At this point, just six games separate first place from last place, and everyone is at least at .500 for the year to date.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Adam hit on another hero pick, putting him at 3-1 in such games on the season to date, which seems to be in keeping with his hit rate on those. We're also staying just above .500 as a group on consensus picks, which is part of why our overall records are doing okay to this point.

As we look ahead to Week 5, this could either go really well, or really really badly. Joe and I disagree on just two games, which is pretty low for us. And then there's Adam... we each disagree with him on nine of the 14 games this week. Let's get to it!

2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 64 (Part 4)

We return for more of the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions as the Elimination Stage rolls on!

Through the 12 rounds that have been simulated so far, chalk has ruled. Our highest seeds that have their series in the books have largely dominated, and even among the closer series we've only had three go the full seven. Though we did already have a blown 3-1 series lead (and I'm most upset it happened to the Bulls).

I didn't intend it this way, but the way our first 12 simulated series have gone, we don't have a set in stone matchup for the Round of 32 yet, and since it's happened to work out that way so far I'm going to keep it that way for this batch of games. The four series we're covering in this part will establish one team for all series in the round of 32, and the second half of this round will fill out those matchups.

The up to date bracket, scores, and results from Group Play can be found here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's get to it!