The Final Four is fast approaching, and Bloomberg TV anchor/editor at large Francine Lacqua continues to lead the 2021 TVNewser March Madness Bracket Challenge.
Our most recent champion, Fox Nation’s Abby Hornacek, also went wire-to-wire.
Will history repeat itself this year?
The year’s Final Four matchups take place tomorrow. One is a “Texas two-step,” as the Houston Cougars take on the Baylor Bears. Tip off for the first national semifinal is 5:14 p.m. ET. That game will be followed by a west coast showdown featuring the underdog UCLA Bruins versus the top-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs. Tip off for that second national semifinal is 8:34 p.m. ET. Both games will air CBS.
The National Championship game, featuring the winners of Houston-Baylor and UCLA-Gonzaga, will take place Monday in prime time and air on CBS as well.
We know Lacqua has led throughout the tournament, but who is making things interesting?
CNBC anchor/senior national correspondent Brian Sullivan sits in second place right with 77 points, only three behind Lacqua. Sullivan, like Lacqua, has Gonzaga winning it all.
Michael Rancilio, WETA svp and the executive in charge of PBS NewsHour, is currently sitting in third place. He is one of only three newsers in who has Baylor winning it all.
Speaking of NewsHour, anchor/managing editor Judy Woodruff is in fourth place. Believe it or not, Woodruff picked Oregon State to win it all! We look forward to hearing why she went with the Beavers, a team many thought wouldn’t even make it out of the first round.
CBSN svp and senior executive producer Darius Walker is making his first appearance in the Bracket Challenge, and currently sits in 5th place.
Following Walker are NBC News chief White House correspondent Peter Alexander, CNBC senior producer Jessica Golden, CNBC Closing Bell co-anchor Sara Eisen, Bloomberg Markets: The Close co-host Romaine Bostick, and Adweek/TVNewser senior editor A.J. Katz rounding out the top 10.
| STANDINGS – 2021 FINAL FOUR | ||||||
| Rank | Network | Team Name | Score | Correct | Max Score | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bloomberg | Francine Lacqua | 80 | 42 | 144 | Gonzaga (172) |
| 2 | CNBC | Brian Sullivan | 77 | 35 | 141 | Gonzaga (171) |
| 3 | PBS/WETA | Michael Rancilio | 75 | 36 | 123 | Baylor (150) |
| 4 | PBS | Judy Woodruff | 69 | 34 | 85 | Oregon State (159) |
| 4 | CBS News | Darius Walker | 69 | 32 | 133 | Gonzaga (123) |
| 6 | NBC News | Peter Alexander | 68 | 35 | 116 | Gonzaga (155) |
| 7 | CNBC | Jessica Golden | 67 | 34 | 115 | Gonzaga (162) |
| 7 | CNBC | Sara Eisen | 67 | 37 | 115 | Gonzaga (167) |
| 7 | Bloomberg | Romaine Bostick | 67 | 34 | 115 | Baylor (134) |
| 10 | Adweek | A.J. Katz | 65 | 34 | 81 | Illinois (155) |
| 11 | CNBC | Dominic Chu | 61 | 32 | 77 | Illinois (126) |
| 12 | NBC/MSNBC | Kasie Hunt | 60 | 35 | 60 | Michigan (145) |
| 12 | NBC/MSNBC | Willie Geist | 60 | 31 | 60 | Illinois (163) |
| 14 | Bloomberg | David Westin | 59 | 29 | 75 | Michigan (175) |
| 15 | CNBC | Jeffrey McCracken | 58 | 34 | 58 | Michigan (138) |
| 15 | CNBC | Tyler Mathisen | 58 | 32 | 122 | Gonzaga (143) |
| 17 | CNBC | Brian Steel | 57 | 29 | 105 | Gonzaga (159) |
| 18 | CNBC | Joe Kernen | 56 | 33 | 72 | Illinois (144) |
| 19 | CNN | Kate Bolduan | 55 | 34 | 71 | Illinois (170) |
| 19 | Bloomberg | Emily Chang | 55 | 30 | 103 | Gonzaga (155) |
| 21 | Fox Business | Edward Lawrence | 54 | 33 | 70 | Illinois (154) |
| 22 | HLN | Bob Van Dillen | 51 | 28 | 99 | Gonzaga (112) |
| 22 | Weather Channel | Paul Goodloe | 51 | 30 | 99 | Baylor (136) |
| 22 | Weather Channel | Alex Wallace | 51 | 31 | 99 | Gonzaga (167) |
| 25 | Bloomberg | Tom Keene | 48 | 31 | 96 | Gonzaga (141) |
| 25 | Fox News | Joe Concha | 48 | 27 | 48 | Illinois (152) |
| 27 | NBC News | Janelle Rodriguez | 46 | 29 | 46 | Michigan (112) |
| 27 | Fox News | Abby Hornacek | 46 | 26 | 94 | Gonzaga (147) |
| 29 | CNBC | Matt Rosoff | 45 | 28 | 93 | Gonzaga (172) |
| 30 | Bloomberg | Kailey Leinz | 44 | 26 | 60 | Virginia (96) |
| 31 | Bloomberg | Taylor Riggs | 43 | 27 | 43 | Illinois (123) |
| 32 | CNBC | Steve Kovach | 38 | 27 | 38 | Texas (130) |
| 33 | Bloomberg | Caroline Hyde | 32 | 24 | 32 | Georgetown (68) |
*Please note the image shown above is from a previous tournament.