Ultimate Mascot Madness Sweet 16 & Elite Eight
Click here for an Introduction and Play-In Round results. Click here for First Round results. Click here for Second Round results. Click here for Third Round results.
Sweet Sixteen
South Region
#9 Miami Hurricanes over #5 Furman Paladins - Never let it be said that I play favorites. Ever since I started Mascot Madness, I have wanted to include my beloved alma mater to see how they would fare. I’m proud of this run to the Sweet 16. The Hurricane is just too tough an opponent to overcome.
#UAB Blazers vs. #31 Longwood Lancers - A Lancer is a member of a cavalry regiment with a lance or spear. The weapon may give them a shot against a dragon, but a Google Image search does not show much in the way of armor. Blazers win.
East Region
#34 Canisius Golden Griffins over #21 Marshall Thundering Herd - Remember in the last round when I mentioned the medieval drawing of a Griffin carrying a horse and knight in its talons to feed to its young? That’s how I see this playing out: the Golden Griffin flying around a field picking off buffalo with its talons.
#6 Hofstra Pride over #26 LIU Sharks - This was a tough pick. Lions can swim but they don’t love the water like tigers. However, we are talking about one shark against a pride of lions. I feel like their strength in numbers would negate any water advantage the Sharks have. Victory for the Pride.
Midwest Region
#33 Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons over #29 Oakland Golden Grizzlies - This is totally a matter of size. Mastodons could grow up to 10 feet and 6 tons. Grizzlies grow up to 6.5 feet and 600 pounds.
#26 Iowa State Cyclones vs. #14 Tulsa Golden Hurricane - When Iowa State took on their mascot, a Cyclone referred to a tornado rather than the Pacific-based tropical storm. There is a sense that a hurricane is a step up from a tornado. In fact, the Tulsa football coach that gave the team its nickname originally wanted to name his team the Golden Tornadoes. When he found that name was taken, the Tulsa website says “he evolved meteorologically” to hurricane. Hurricanes can do massive widespread damage where a tornado can do devastating concentrated damage. I decided to pick this based on windspeed. The highest recorded windspeed of a Hurricane is 190 mph. The highest recorded windspeed of a tornado is 302 mph. Cyclones get the W.
West Region
#25 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors over #12 California Golden Bears - It has been established over the years that Mascot Madness has a great respect for the bear family’s ability to do some damage in mascot battle. However the intelligence and weaponry of the Rainbow Warrior carries the day.
#19 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos over #2 San Diego State Aztecs - Another close match. However, the more modern weaponry of the Gaucho gives UC Santa Barbara a trip to the Elite Eight.
Elite Eight
South Region
#9 Miami Hurricanes vs. #19 UAB Blazers - A heck of a run for the Blazers, but the fierce wind of the Hurricane would cause havoc with both the dragon’s flying and fire-breathing abilities. Hurricanes punch another ticket to the Final Four.
East Region
#34 Canisius Golden Griffin over #6 Hofstra Pride - A Pride of lions would fare better against the pick-off strategy than a herd of buffalo. However, I think the golden eagle-lions would still be too much. And thus #34 Canisius, who had to survive a play-in tournament just to get into 128 team bracket continues its epic Cinderella run.
Midwest Region
#26 Iowa State Cyclones over #33 Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons - Meanwhile another Cinderella run meets its end. Thank you, Purdue Fort Wayne. It was a pleasure to find out there is a college team whose mascot is a Mastodon.
West Region
#19 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos over #25 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors - As was the case in the last round, the modern weaponry gives the Gaucho the edge and our Final Four is set. Hurricanes, Golden Griffins, Cyclones, and Gauchos. Who will win? (You can probably guess if you’ve been paying close attention) Find out with our next post as Ultimate Mascot Madness concludes!
