Sixteen.

In the spirit of the Sweet 16, which starts tonight, I'm going to break down what needs to happen for each of the current top 16 teams in the ALACS pool to win the $339 that goes to first place.

It's worthwhile to keep in mind that a correct Sweet 16 pick is worth 4 points, a correct Elite 8 pick is worth 8 points, a correct Final Four pick is worth 16 points, and picking the correct champion is worth 24 points.

1. Andrew Gay (2), 51 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Stanford, UCLA.
CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC over UCLA
BREAKDOWN: Our current leader was the only person in the pool to correctly pick Western Kentucky, Villanova, and Davidson all reaching the Sweet 16. Gay has lost only one of his Elite Eight teams -- he had Kansas St. beating Davidson -- and shares his two Championship teams with much of the pool. The key to Andrew Gay's success is the South region -- he has Stanford beating Texas and Michigan St. prevailing over Memphis. If he nails both of those winners, I might as well start writing his check for first.

2 (tie). Alex Bratt, 47 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Memphis, UCLA.
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over UNC
BREAKDOWN: Bratt picked all four #1s to reach the Final Four -- something that, as the geniuses at Basketball Prospectus pointed out before the beginning of the tournament, has as good a statistical chance of happening as a #16 upsetting a #1 in the first round. He's lost Georgetown and Duke out of his Elite Eight, and otherwise has every single #1 and #2 advancing. Especially considering Memphis' free throw woes, Bratt is a longshot to win.

2 (tie). Andy Popp (1), 47 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Wisconsin, Stanford, Xavier.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Stanford over Wisconsin
BREAKDOWN: Simply put, Popp is living and dying with his two #3 seeds. If Stanford and Wisconsin do in fact make it to the Championship game, Popp wins.

2 (tie). Joe Simich, 47 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Georgetown, Memphis, UCLA.
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over UNC
BREAKDOWN: Joe has lost Duke and G'Town out of his Elite Eight and G'Town out of his Final Four -- for Joe to beat Alex Bratt (who has the exact same Championship result), he will need Kansas to lose, Stanford to beat Texas, and Louisville to beat Tennessee. The chances of all of these things happening are not likely.

2 (tie). Jordan Spektor, 47 Points
FINAL FOUR: Tennessee, USC, Memphis, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: Memphis over USC
BREAKDOWN: USC's done and Memphis shot 59% from the FT line this year. Good luck next year, Spek.

6 (tie). Andy Popp (2), 46 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Pitt, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC over UCLA
BREAKDOWN: Popp's second bracket has lost Pitt out of his Final Four and Georgetown from his Elite Eight -- to catch current leader Andrew Gay, Popp's #2 bracket will need both Texas to beat Stanford AND Lousville to beat Tennessee. If those two things don't happen, he can't catch Gay.

6 (tie). Aurora Janke, 46 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Memphis, Duke
CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC over Duke
BREAKDOWN: Aurora needs a lot of help -- probably a little too much help given she's already lost one of her Championship teams. However, she has already scored a serious victory as she's beating her boyfriend, Sean Stokke. Stokke....hang your head in shame.

6 (tie). Danny Hennessy, 46 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Texas, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over Kansas
BREAKDOWN: Hennessy boasts an oustanding Final Four (at least in this Commissioner's biased opinion) and has only lost Stanford out of his Elite Eight. If Kansas gets to the title game, Hennessy is in great shape for a top 3 finish. However, he will have to worry about....

6 (tie). Michael Marty (1), 46 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Memphis, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: Kansas over Memphis
BREAKDOWN: Marty's technique was interesting in this bracket -- he chose all four #1s to make the Final Four, but also chose the two underdogs (relatively speaking) to play for the title. If Kansas and Memphis can both make it that far, Marty will almost certainly win.

6 (tie). Joe Nelson (1), 46 Points
FINAL FOUR: Tennessee, Kansas, Texas, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over Kansas
BREAKDOWN: Joe found a nice mix of bold picks and reliable ones -- no one ahead of him in the standings has Tennessee reaching the Final Four, so if that were to happen Joe would be gaining serious points on the rest of the field. It's worth noting that despite being a higher seed, Tennessee is a 3-point underdog to Louisville in their Sweet 16 game tonight.

6 (tie). Jon Wang, 46 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Wisconsin, Texas, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC over UCLA
BREAKDOWN: Wang has been the ALACS leader for nearly the entire tournament -- he only recently dropped down after Butler, Notre Dame, and Georgetown all lost. Wang is the only person in the pool to have his entire Elite Eight intact -- if Wisconsin can defeat Kansas and make it to the Final Four, I'd mark Jon Wang down as your winner.

12 (tie). Corey Mitchell, 45 Points
FINAL FOUR: Tennessee, Kansas, Memphis, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over Kansas
BREAKDOWN: Corey has hope, but that hope depends on Memphis and Tennessee both making it to San Antonio, which seems like a longshot. He will need those two things to happen to win, as he has the same Championship game as Danny Hennessy, who's a point ahead of him.

12 (tie). Jane Scott, 45 Points
FINAL FOUR: Tennessee, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: Tennessee over Kentucky
BREAKDOWN: Sean Stokke's aunt Jane must be from the south. On a related note, she has no chance of winning this pool.

12 (tie). Lauren Duin, 45 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Memphis, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: Kansas over UCLA
BREAKDOWN: Given that no one else above her in the pool has Kansas beating UCLA in the Championship Game, little sis Lauren will win the pool if her fairy tale ending becomes reality.

15 (tie). Mike Duin (2), 44 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Pitt, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over Kansas
BREAKDOWN: Given that The Commish has already lost a Final Four team and a couple people ranked ahead of him also have UCLA over Kansas...well, to hell with the third person. I'm not winning with this bracket.

15 (tie). John Rosinbum, 44 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Wisconsin, Stanford, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over UNC
BREAKDOWN: Rosinbum has a shot because of his Stanford and Wisconsin Final Four picks -- if both of these things happen, considering his dependable Championship picks, his bracket will become scary.

15 (tie). Matt Crevier (1), 44 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Texas, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA over UNC
BREAKDOWN: Crev's bracket simply has too much in common with those ahead of him. I could be wrong, but I think our favorite LMU grad has already been mathematically eliminated.

15 (tie). Willis Barnes (2), 44 Points
FINAL FOUR: UNC, Kansas, Texas, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: Kansas over UCLA
BREAKDOWN: For Willis to beat Lauren Duin -- who has the exact same Championship result -- he will need Texas to beat Memphis and/or Xavier to beat West Virginia tonight. Another interesting spread: West Virginia is a favorite in that game, despite being the #7 seed to Xavier's #3.

So there you have it. Enjoy the games.