The madness of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has officially come to an end. The first ever Walsh Jesuit bracket was a great success and the winner is—Mr. Norris.

Senior Steve Walko hosted a March Madness bracket that was open to the entire school. There were over 120 entries and the bracket was too close to call until the very last game ended.

When asked Steve why he decided to start a school wide bracket contest and Walko said, “I always put together brackets and love the competition so I figured this was a great way to compete against a bunch of people.”

It is only fitting that WJ’s men’s basketball coach, Mr. Norris, would win the bracket as he knows quite a bit about basketball. When asked what his strategy for picking his teams was, Coach Norris responded, “North Carolina and Gonzaga were the two best teams in college basketball, considering offense and defense, bench, and other factors including coaching and talent.  They played well and had a few breaks go there way that is why they made it to the Championship game.  I thought Carolina might be a little more prepared to win after being there last season…plus I’ve always been a Carolina fan.”

Another question he was asked was if he found it tough to pick against some of his former players and he said, “I love Kent State and wanted both Mitch Peterson and Ben Kanieski (Dayton) to get wins in the tournament, but I thought UCLA and Wichita State were better teams—so a balance of heart and head.” Coach Norris will receive a Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card for winning the bracket.