It is here. The 2025 Chippens Tournament Challenge is officially underway! This year we have 130 participants, tied for the most all-time! The future 2025 Champion will have to scrape and claw for every point over these next three weekends.
Links to current standings and other informative reports are below. The current standings page shows when it was last updated. Standings are updated frequently throughout the tournament, though not always in real time.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
The media pundits all claim this year's tournament will be "chalky"--meaning the favorites are likely to win and we won't see many upsets. That's especially true with the tournament's four #1 seeds.
Many of this year's players agree with the experts, with 79% of the field picking a #1 seed as the champion, and 55% of players picking either Duke (30%) or Florida (25%), the two teams regarded as the best in the tournament.
Those numbers go even higher when we look at the Final Four. Houston was the least favorite pick among players to make it, but they still pulled 47% support.
The non-#1 team that earned the most support was none other than Michigan State. The Spartans are perennially boosted in the Chippens tourney by their loyal fanbase, but this year's #2-seeded MSU team could deliver, and that has the Spartan bandwagon at full capacity.
Some on the bandwagon are quite confident, including current MSU student Syd the Squid, who had a message with her picks ("Umich doesn't stand a chance").
An amazing 73% of players have the Spartans advancing to the Elite 8, and 37% picked them for the Final Four.
Contrast that with rival Michigan, which only garnered 12% support to the Elite 8, and only nine players picked them into the Final Four (Apologize for the word, Blizzard T. Husky, LeBron James, Mama, MKizzle07, My Dada is 2 Cool, Waltzin 2 Victory, Cotter, SueHeffer).
Despite winning the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan's support to the Elite 8 substantially lags other Big Ten teams Wisconsin (41%) and Illinois (18%).
SMACK TALK FIESTA
The keys to winning this tournament, the most prestigious spectator sport contest in the world, are actually pretty simple:
- Limit your pre-picks research to which team has a guy who looks like he's 40 and can hit 85% from three point range.
- Scream at your TV
- Ignore all other responsibilities in your life
- Never sit down
- Invest in the ComfyCath, a personal liquid evacuation device developed by Vanadeum, 20-year Chippens veteran.
- Get in the heads of your opponents
As to the last point, you can deploy many different strategies. Some players park in their chief opponent's driveway the night before and lay on the car horn all night.
Others, even bolder, put their smack talk right in their handle (The REAL Wylder, Better than Maurie).
There are players like KayAllDay, who has prominently displayed her third place prize from last year in her household all year long. 'Nuff said.
And then there are those who absolutely light up the Smack Talk box when submitting their picks.
We have some good ones this year. Yes, MonsterTruck, I WILL come to Austin! Go Oregon and Marquette!
Daphne's Unstoppable was almost unstoppable in her message box pronouncements. Polar Bear played it a little cagey, but we know he's watching and ready to pounce.
But the best goes to on again, off again player 2 Su's, who simply put "NA" in the Smack Talk box. That's right, not applicable. When you're high on the mountain top like Susu, descending into the mud at sea level just isn't even an option.
Susu doesn't play this game often, but when she does, she excels.
In fact, she's the former #1 ranked player. She still could be except she only plays about every third year and so becomes ineligible for the all-time records. This will be her seventh season, and in her previous six she's racked up four top-28 finishes. That includes an 11th place in 2019--the other year that had 130 players
Good luck to all!