Defensive lineman Stephen Paea makes a huge jump to take the lead in the #RedskinsBracket challenge, which heads into the Sweet 16. Here's how all the guys' brackets are faring through Saturday's games: 1. Defensive lineman Stephen Paea — 370 points
MAJOR WINS: 1 Kentucky over 8 Cincinnati; 3 Notre Dame over 6 Butler; 4 North Carolina over 5 Arkansas; 6 Xavier over 14 Georgia State; 2 Arizona over 10 Ohio State; 11 UCLA over 14 UAB
MAJOR LOSSES: 8 North Carolina State over 1 Villanova; 5 Utah over 4 Georgetown
ANALYSIS: What a run by Paea, who gets to the top of the standings in the #RedskinsBracket challenge by continuing to ride the UCLA wave. Many didn't feel UCLA was worthy of even being in the tournament to begin with, but Paea has been spot on by picking the Bruins in the first couple rounds, straight into the Sweet 16. Paea is in solid shape moving forward.
2. Guard Chris Chester — 360 points
MAJOR WINS: 1 Kentucky over 8 Cincinnati; 4 North Carolina over 5 Arkansas; 2 Arizona over 10 Ohio State; 5 Utah over 4 Georgetown; 11 UCLA over 14 UAB
MAJOR LOSSES: 3 Notre Dame over 6 Butler; 8 North Carolina State over 1 Villanova
ANALYSIS: Chester also continues a solid run at the #RedskinsBracket challenge title, and, like Paea, thought UCLA should be picked to advance to the Sweet 16. The only difference between Chester and Paea's brackets on Saturday was Chester did not have Notre Dame advancing past the Round of 32 — it did, however, with a 67-64 overtime victory over Butler.
3. Outside linebacker Jackson Jeffcoat — 350 points
MAJOR WINS: 1 Kentucky over 8 Cincinnati; 3 Notre Dame over 6 Butler; 4 North Carolina over 5 Arkansas; 6 Xavier over 14 Georgia State; 2 Arizona over 10 Ohio State; 5 Utah over 4 Georgetown
MAJOR LOSSES: 8 North Carolina State over 1 Villanova; 11 UCLA over 14 UAB.
ANALYSIS: Jeffcoat on Saturday continued to reap the benefits of a few solid picks earlier in the week. He currently has guessed right on six of the available nine teams to advance to the Sweet 16, with the rest of the games being played today. The Texas product's picks of Xavier and Utah are sittin' real pretty now.
4 (t). — Outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan — 330 points
MAJOR WINS: 3 Notre Dame over 6 Butler; 2 Arizona over 10 Ohio State; 8 North Carolina State over 1 Villanova; 5 Utah over 4 Georgetown
MAJOR LOSSES: 4 North Carolina over 5 Arkansas
ANALYSIS: The good news for Kerrigan? He was the only one on the challenge to pick eight-seeded North Carolina State to upset No. 1-seed Villanova on Saturday. As a bonus, he also picked No. 5-seed Utah to end No. 4-seed Georgetown's run. The bad news? The outside linebacker's original choice of Purdue to win the National Championship continues to backfire, as Kentucky — the tournament's overall No. 1 seed — remains undefeated and rolling through that side of the bracket. It'll be interesting to see how Kerrigan's bracket goes from here.
4 (t) — Redskins.com Managing Editor Andrew Walker
MAJOR WINS: 1 Kentucky over 8 Cincinnati; 3 Notre Dame over 6 Butler; 4 North Carolina over 5 Arkansas; 2 Arizona over 10 Ohio State; 5 Utah over 4 Georgetown;
MAJOR LOSSES: 8 North Carolina State over 1 Villanova
ANALYSIS: After a significant dip on Friday, Walker actually turned in a decently-solid performance on Saturday, picking correctly in both No. 4-vs.No. 5 matchups — which are usually always a toss up. Like most others, however, he didn't foresee Villanova being upset so early in the tournament. Walker likely won't win the #RedskinsBracket challenge, but, like Kerrigan, the Sweet 16 has presented a fork in the road.
6. Safety Akeem Davis — 270 points
MAJOR WINS: 1 Kentucky over 8 Cincinnati; 4 North Carolina over 5 Arkansas
MAJOR LOSSES: 2 Arizona over 10 Ohio State; 8 North Carolina State over 1 Villanova; 5 Utah over 4 Georgetown;
ANALYSIS: Yikes. After making some moves on Friday to get back into the race, Davis fell flat on Saturday. Perhaps the one that hurts the most was his pick of No. 10 seed Ohio State to defeat No. 2 seed Arizona. The Wildcats took care of the Buckeyes, 73-58. There's evidence all around Davis' bracket of some bold picks earlier in the week going awry, which doesn't set him up well the rest of the way.
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