2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 32 (Part 4)

Just four series remain in the Round of 32 in the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions, but honestly, I don't know how we top the last four we covered.

After most of our Round of 32 games early on were resolved fairly quickly, we had three separate seven game classics between heavyweights in the last batch. Of those three, two of them were won by the lower seeded team. And with both of those series, both our #2 overall seed and our #3 overall seed are gone.

At this point, four of our matchups for the Round of 16 have been determined, and the remaining four will be decided with the results of this batch.

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 9

The coalition is back at it as we near the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season!

It was the most groupthink week I think we've ever had last week, that even included a couple late changes reducing it even further. It worked out for us, as we all split our two disputed games with each other. As a result, Adam's lead among the columnists remains where it was and just seven games separates first from last place among the entire group.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. Due to the groupthink there were quite a few consensus picks last week, and we continue to have some good success there. And as a group, hero picks have hit at a very good rate, with Adam's usual success in those games being a large reason why he's at the top of the leaderboard.

So as we move on to this next week, Adam and I disagree on five games, Joe and I on just two, and the two of them on three out of 14. Let's get to it!

2025 COAS Pigskin Pick 'Em: Week 8

The coalition is back at it as we enter Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season!

Adam mentioned over text when I passed along our disputed game count for last week that it was a heavy one and that he expected we'd split. Sure enough, he and I split our six disputed games; Joe had a better week though as he swept our two disputed games and took five of eight from Adam.

The bad news for me now is that I'm tied for the bottom of the group standings, though not for having a bad week. It was just that others had a better week, as six games still separate me and Adam, though his lead for the whole group is down to just four games.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. After hovering around .500 in consensus picks, we hit on all four of ours this past week, which was a big reason why the whole group finished above .500 for the week. Adam's lead once again stems from his continued success in hero picks, though he split his two from last week.

As we look ahead to the new week, we have one of the more groupthink-laden set of picks in column history. All told, we disagree with each other on just two games apiece. Let's get to it!

2025 NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions: Elimination Stage Round of 32 (Part 3)

We're down to 24 teams left as the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions rolls on!

Both of our teams that have won tournament championships were in action in the last batch of games, and as part of that, our defending Champion of Champions was unceremoniously swept out of their title defense. The two-time champion in the 1996 Chicago Bulls, however, remains alive to try and reclaim its throne.

After a set with a couple of upsets though, we were back to chalk in the last set as the higher seeds all prevailed, and all of them with relative ease. The batch of games we're doing today is pretty heavy with group winners, so we'll see if they continue to prevail to maintain home court advantage for yet another round.

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 32 (Part 2)

The Round of 32 is underway in the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions, and already we've seen a little upheaval.

Our two most recent NBA champions held serve in their series, showing continued dominance for the modern era of the NBA. But we also saw that the gap between teams is closer than it might appear, as we lost both a 2 seed and a 1 seed in the first set of games.

In the Round of 64 the way I'd shuffled series it was set up so that no matchups for the next round would be determined in the first half. The shuffle didn't work out that way this time, but that's okay as if this were happening in reality games would be going on at the same time and we may have some matchups determined sooner than others.

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 32 (Part 1)

We started with a playoff field of 64, and now that has been cut in half as the NBA/ABA Tournament of Champions rolls on.

Chalk largely ruled in the Round of 64, as we only had five upsets: three five seeds and two six seeds were able to advance to the Round of 32, otherwise all the teams that finished in the top four of their respective groups held serve. Meanwhile from a historical perspective, the two teams that have won previous Tournaments of Champions are still alive, as are two of the three runners-up, and all of our previous semifinalists. By era, only two teams from before 1980 remain alive, and all but two champions from 2009-onward are still in contention.

Now the road gets a little bit harder as we move to the Round of 32. Since every group's top two finishers remain alive, those teams will continue to carry home court advantage into this round of play. As we did in the Round of 64 (though I don't think I ever specifically mentioned it), all series are best of sevens played in a 2-2-1-1-1 format.

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 7

As the NFL season rolls on, so to does the coalition's quest to pick NFL games against the spread.

This past week was kind of a mixed bag. Joe was tied for the week's best mark in the group as he took three of four from me and three of five from Adam, Adam took four of seven from me. As a result, Adam moves a tiny bit further ahead of me while Joe pulls into what is now a three way tie for second, with the rest of the group just one game behind us.

You can view how we've all picked in relation to each other here. The status quo of the group remaining just a hair above .500 on consensus picks continues; meanwhile it was a good week for hero picks, with four of the five from last week hitting, raising the group's record when going hero to 17-11 through six weeks. Geoffrey is the only one below .500 in such games, and Adam's lead is largely based on his usual nonsense of picking the most hero games and winning more often than not.

As we look ahead to Week 7, Joe and I disagree on just two games, while Adam is more in his usual range of six disputed with me and eight with Joe out of 15. Let's get to it!

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!