James Kiki forgets to pick winner in Yahoo’s top bracket
A banner hangs over NRG Stadium in preparation of the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament Thursday, March 31, 2016, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Credit: AP/ David J. Phillip
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — James Kiki isn’t sure if he’ll fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket next year. He might want to.
Heading into Final Four weekend, Kiki is tied for first place out of more than 500,000 entries in Yahoo’s contest. That’s the good news. The bad news: he has no chance to win the $50,000 prize because he didn’t pick a winner for the national title game.
“Don’t ask me how,” Kiki said with a pained laugh.
One of the more than 20,000 Lost Boys of Sudan, Kiki decided to try his luck this year and filled out his first-ever bracket.
“I was sitting at my computer and everybody was saying, ‘You have to submit one.’ I did one in like five minutes,” said Kiki, an accountant for On Point for College at its offices in Syracuse.
Kiki said he was planning to pick Villanova to beat North Carolina in the championship game. Now, he’s just rooting for Syracuse.
“I hope they win the whole thing,” he said.
Jahmo Syracuse is the name of his bracket. His Final Four is perfect, and he’s made 48 correct picks out of 60 possible games. Without the winner, he has no chance of winning the grand prize.
