14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - The Finals

 

Florida may have reigned supreme in the Title game last night, but FALAFEL 2025 is all about Pennsylvania. I thought these matchups would be a lot closer than they were, which I have to assume is due to commute concerns about the Poconos and weather concerns about NOLA? 

Either way, this is what we're stuck with. I have to hope Pitt rolls here, because are we really going to draft in Philly? Does anyone even live close enough to make it convenient?

The only thing I like about this matchup is that if there is a tie we have the option of meeting in the middle in Happy Valley.

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Final Four Voting

We came reeeeally close to having no 1 seeds in the Final 4, which definitely would have been a first. Pitt survived Savannah and NOLA beat Cincy in a tiebreak. That leaves us with a Final 4 that is 75% Pennsylvania. I don't even really know what to say about that. A quick rundown from my perspective:

Poconos

Pros: Weather, housing, outdoor activities, the Dome, casino

Cons: Lack of novelty, draft locations, airport locations

Pittsburgh

Pros: Weather, ideal long weekend city, Pirates game, casino, airport

Cons: Housing, it's kind of funny that Pitt has never won despite being a 1 seed at least 10 times

New Orleans

Pros: Returning to probably the best draft location we've been to, Belf organized this one last time so we'll miss Esco even less than usual, it's New Orleans come on

Cons: Weather, repeat draft location

Philadelphia

Pros: Weather, airport, casino, draft grade quotes

Cons: General enjoyment of the weekend, safety, Bennett being way too happy

I honestly think it's anyone's game at this point. For the first time since Louisville vs. Cincy, I'm unsure of my votes.

 

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Elite 8 Voting

 

MADNESS!

College basketball may be super chalky, but here in FALAFEL the bracket is living up to its name. The #1 overall seed goes down via tiebreak, and ALL FOUR 2 SEEDS LOST. Savannah beat Portland via tiebreak, Vegas and KC put up a fight, but Burlington got straight STOMPED. 

We have two repeat locations, a West Coast spot, and somehow 3 different places in Pennsylvania. At this point, Minneapolis has to be the favorite in terms of path to the ship, housing options, lake access, and weather. I can easily see Poconos making the final too, with many of the same benefits. Philly and Scottsdale are the only two cities that seem to have no chance, but they made it this far so who knows?

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Sweet 16 Voting

 

Almost an entirely chalk first round, which is not entirely surprising. If anything the 7-seeds had a better showing than usual. Not sure if that's a reflection of the 2 seeds or what, but this week we have some real contests. The 1950's Northeast Family of 4 Dream (Jersey Shore vs. Poconos), Four potential repeat cities, and some classic also rans. I believe this is the first time Philly has made the second round, but everyone else has been here before.

14th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - The Bracket

 

Fun bracket this year. There are some prevailing themes to the regions, some random locations (Lesotho was the first team out), and a decent chance for a repeat location for the first time since Ithaca '10. 

• People seem pretty set on going down the shore, not sure if that's to put Esco in a weird spot or not, but I don't see anything stopping the Shore from the Final 4. 
• New Orleans has a tough road. I would have put it as the favorite pre-bracket, but taking down perennial contenders Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Vegas just to get to the Final 4 is daunting. 
• Similar to the Shore, I can't see Minny falling short before the semis. Lake house, not too hot, casino, maybe a soccer game? Seems like the prototypical draft spot.
• I have no idea what to make of the bottom left. Pitt is a 1 seed for what must be the 10th year in a row, but it only takes one person pointing out the Airbnb situation for Charleston to pull an second round upset. Portland, ME had a weird amount of support, so that's my Final 4 pick from that region.