With the Louisville Cardinals’ dramatic 82-76 win over the Michigan Wolverines, March Madness has come to an end. It also means that we need to declare a winner in the TVNewser March Madness Bracket Challenge.
Your 2013 TVNewser March Madness Bracket Challenge winner is…
CBS News VP of programming and “CBS This Morning” executive producer Chris Licht!
“This win takes a bit of the sting out of my beloved Orange going down to defeat,” Licht says. “That said, I didn’t pick them to win, so I guess everything worked out in the end.”
It was incredibly close this year, with CNN’s Tom Foreman only three points behind. his colleagues Janelle Rodriguez and Randi Kaye were also close. It was fitting that the winner represented CBS News this year, as the game was broadcast on The Eye network. Early numbers indicate huge ratings, up nearly +20% from 2012’s game. Licht also showed why he was boss by besting the anchors of his program, Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell.
As for your TVNewser editor’s experiment to let a computer pick the winners? It didn’t work out.
A big thank you to everyone who participated this year. The final standings are after the jump.
| Rank | Name | Score | Champ (Final score) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Licht | 132 | Louisville (132) |
| 2 | Tom Foreman | 129 | Louisville (134) |
| 3 | Janelle Rodriguez | 119 | Louisville (95) |
| 4 | Randi Kaye | 117 | Louisville (98) |
| 5 | Matt Quayle | 114 | Louisville (138) |
| 6 | Carol Costello | 113 | Louisville (74) |
| 7 | Rick Leventhal | 108 | Louisville (138) |
| 8 | Brian Schactman | 104 | Louisville (140) |
| 9 | Don Lemon | 98 | Louisville (100) |
| 10 | Suzanne Malveaux | 97 | Louisville (80) |
| 11 | Steve Kornacki | 95 | Louisville (141) |
| 12 | Eric Sherling | 85 | Florida (145) |
| 13 | Joe Kernen | 81 | Indiana (123) |
| 14 | Scott Boyarski | 78 | Florida (134) |
| 15 | Gary Schreier | 75 | Indiana (149) |
| 16 | Becky Quick | 74 | Indiana (138) |
| 16 | Brooke Baldwin | 74 | Indiana (73) |
| 18 | Bill Wolff | 70 | Duke (152) |
| 19 | Norah O’Donnell | 67 | Georgetown (76) |
| 20 | Adam Shapiro | 60 | Syracuse (2) |
| 20 | Charlie Rose | 60 | Duke (140) |
| 22 | Brian Sullivan | 59 | Duke (150) |
| 22 | Dominic Chu | 59 | Miami, Fla. (125) |
| 24 | KC Sullivan | 58 | Indiana (126) |
| 24 | Wolf Blitzer | 58 | Georgetown (88) |
| 26 | Chad Myers | 57 | Ohio St. (61) |
| 27 | Joe Johns | 56 | Ohio St. (150) |
| 28 | Tyler Matheson | 55 | Kansas (152) |
| 29 | Sam Feist | 54 | Georgetown (113) |
| 30 | Gayle King | 51 | Duke (88) |
| 31 | Alex Weprin | 38 | Gonzaga (134) |
| 32 | Anna Kooiman | 34 | Duke (100) |
| 33 | Lisa Sylvester | 33 | Indiana (137) |