2010 NCAA Tournament: Alex Hermann, the Kid With the Perfect Bracket

St Mary's over Richmond—and then Villanova? Check. 

Northern Iowa over Kansas? Count it.

Cornell in the Sweet 16? Obviously.  

And of course, Ohio U. routing Georgetown in the first round. Lock.

So when the author of the only known "perfect bracket" in America thinks Kansas State will beat Purdue for the national championship, who are we to question Kansas State's interior presence—or whether Purdue can keep advancing without Robbie Hummel? 

Yes, Alex Hermann, a 17-year-old Chicago-area native with autism, instead of memorizing the periodic table in chemistry class, concocted the perfect bracket.

Of 48 games played, he has 48 games correctly predicted. 

"I'm good at math," simplified Alex. "I'm kind of good at math and at stats I see on TV during the game." 

So he's not a basketball savant? Shocking. It's March—and just like we said last week, basketball I.Q. does not matter!

The only thing that counts in March is luck—and this kid has tons of it.  

So congrats, Buddy. Go buy your lottery tickets now. Swing your four iron freely in a lightning storm, and ask Hannah Montana out for ice cream.

You better act quickly, though, because your luck is running out, Alex. As any intelligent basketball fan knows, Duke will beat Purdue in the Sweet 16—and Syracuse will beat Kansas State to advance to the Final Four.

But then again, my bracket is all red, so don't listen to me!

But still, the worst part is, you know Alex had exactly zero dollars riding on these games. Meanwhile, everyone I know who has bet on this tournament has seen his bank account dwindle faster than Toyota’s stock price. 

True, crazy stories like Alex's are why we love March Madness.

But at the same time, for the sake of my shriveling bracket, I can't wait for it to end!

As always, for more, go to www.buytheclippers.com.