Kansas State week of Nov 2: Bob Trollsby saw 17 coming

Opening night

The Cocaine Willie Prediction League went live on Friday, and it did not have to wait long for its first game. That night K-State hosted Cal State Northridge, tip-off 8 PM CT, and the first picks of the season were on the board.

Every one of them had K-State winning. That was never going to be the hard part. The hard part, the part this league is built around, is how much by. Pick the winner and the margin range, and the closer you get, the more you score.

K-State won 95 to 78. Seventeen points, right inside the 13 to 18 range.

The Pod set the bar

The Cocaine Willie Pod all went in on K-State, and they split on the margin.

Fireball Matt and The Good Chef both had K-State by 8 to 12. Right winner, one range short, and that is worth 3 points each.

Bob Trollsby went bigger: K-State by 13 to 18. Exactly right. That is the maximum a single pick can earn, 5 points, and it is the only exact range anyone in the league has called so far. It puts Bob Trollsby first in the standings after one game, with the On the Money badge to go with it.

Between them the Pod scored 11 points from three picks. That is the number to chase.

The first fan on the board

Mulletcat69420 joined on Friday afternoon, a few hours before tip-off, and made their call a minute later: K-State by 8 to 12. Same read as Fireball Matt and The Good Chef, the same 3 points, and the same spot in the standings. After one game Mulletcat69420 sits tied for second with two of the three hosts, one exact range behind the leader.

Heartland Beef joined on Saturday morning, after the Northridge game, so their first chance to score is the next one. Both fans have already made their Creighton pick.

The game before the league

K-State also played on Tuesday: K-State 66, South Dakota State 68. That one tipped off before the league opened, so there were no picks on it and no points from it. In this league, the season starts with Northridge.

How the points fall

The scoring is simple. Five points for the exact range, three for one range off, two for the right winner, nothing for the wrong one. Basketball's ranges are 1 to 3, 4 to 7, 8 to 12, 13 to 18, 19 to 25, and 26 and up.

That ladder is why one game already tells a story. Mulletcat69420, Fireball Matt and The Good Chef all picked K-State by 8 to 12 and took 3 points. Bob Trollsby picked 13 to 18 and took 5. The gap between second and first is a single range.

The first badges are landing too. Both fans picked up Founding Member and First Call, and Mulletcat69420 added Called It. You can see the full badge list and what it takes to earn each one.

Next up: Creighton

K-State hosts Creighton on Tuesday, Nov 10, tip-off 8 PM CT. Picks lock at tip-off, so make your Creighton pick before the ball goes up.

One game in, there is no race yet, just a two-point gap. An exact range is worth 5, so anyone who joins today is one good call from the top of the standings.

If you are not in yet, there is still time to get on the board in the Cocaine Willie Prediction League. It is free to play. Think you can beat the Cocaine Willie Pod?