Life is unfair.

Jimmy Carter said that one time.

Peter M. feels that today.

After leading virtually from the opening bell, Peter stumbled to third place in the Hoop Time Whatever We Are Calling It This Week Brackets Challenge when the Fighting Illini came up short against North Carolina last night.

Nobody scored more points in four of the first five rounds than Peter. Nobody had more total correct picks than Peter's 45.

But Patrick O. had the one that mattered most. He picked North Carolina to win it all and the 32 points he picked up for getting the final right moved him ahead of Peter and gave him the title as Hoop Time's top bracketeer.

Patrick finished with 159 points, picking 42 games correctly. Peter finished with 142, actually falling to third behind second-place Andrew L. (157) who also had Carolina in the final.

Kudos to two other entries, Russ N. and Drew W. who each also picked Carolina to win it all. Russ finished fourth with 141 points. Drew was sixth with 131. Tim C., who had Illinois in the final, took fifth with 139 points.

The top three finishers should shoot me an e-mail (hoop_time@hotmail.com)with their mailing address so we can send out their prizes. Be sure to include which Patriot League team you follow.

We will also be sending a special prize to Harry C., our last place finisher. Harry has Oklahoma State, Gonzaga, UConn and Syracuse in his final four. As you might guess, he was done after the Sweet Sixteen, scoring zeros in the last three rounds to finish with 71 points.

Harry will receive a Kansas postseason media guide for his (lack of) effort.

Complete final standings are available here.