Kentucky wins in a walk

UPDATE: The Walk Score picks have not done so well after the first full weekend. Only six Sweet Sixteen Walk Score picks survived: Florida, Duke, Houston, Purdue, Kentucky, and Tennessee. St. John's, which we projected as a finalist, lost in a first-round upset. We only have a chance for two in the Elite Eight. The good news is that Kentucky, projected to win in our bracket, has survived and is playing very well. Go Wildcats!

Based on a modified Walk Score analysis, look for NCAA royalty Kentucky to win another tournament. The number 3 ranked Wildcats play out of the Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington, which has a Walk Score of 95. To determine who wins, I found the Walk Score for each team and then subtracted their seed. Basketball achievement has to count for something, although Walk Score is the biggest factor in this system. 

This would be Kentucky’s ninth national championship. That would be behind only UCLA, which is also in the tournament this year. I have the Bruins making the Sweet Sixteen, but losing to Kentucky.  

The final four will also feature Wisconsin (a 3-seed from Madison, WI), Marquette (a 7-seed from Milwaukee), and St. John’s (a 2-seed from Queens, NY). 

This is an interesting bracket, with most of the outcomes plausible. The biggest stretch is Yale making the Sweet Sixteen. An Ivy to make the Sweet Sixteen has happened four times in history, most recently Princeton in 2023. So this is possible. 

I have been traveling this week, and I have been rushing to make this bracket. You will notice that I am already down one game, as Creighton took apart Louisville earlier this afternoon. Nobody’s perfect, but I’m eager to see how Walk Score performs over the rest of the tournament.  

UPDATE: In the first 20 games, the Walk Score picks have won 15. The biggest upsets so far (in the Walk Score rankings) are Yale and Memphis, who were predicted to go into the Sweet Sixteen, and Texas A&M and Colorado State defeated them.