Here at Lent Madness HQ, we take brackets seriously. Thus when someone alerted us to the fact that there is some other bracket-style tournament that takes place in March, we thought we'd better take a look. What follows is the Official Lent Madness Bracket Analysis For Tournaments Taking Place During March That Do Not Involve Saints.

When you examine the NCAA basketball tournament from a saintly hermeneutic (which is a $500 theological word that young preachers should never, ever, under any circumstances use in a sermon), three categories emerge: The Obvious, The Perhaps, and The Give Me A Break.

THE OBVIOUS

Let's start with The Obvious. Here are the teams encompassing overt saintly references. You can't deny the influence of the holy when looking at these teams:

St. John's University (Red Storm) -- The only question is which St. John. The Baptizer? The Evangelist? Of the Cross? They get additional points for the allusion to Pentecost in their nickname.

Providence College (Friars) -- The school moniker is a synonym for heaven. Plus they get extra credit for invoking the image of Friar Tuck.

Notre Dame (Fighting Irish) -- Any team named for Our Lady is "obvious." Too bad there are no "Hail Mary" plays in basketball. The word "Fighting" is lamentable but Celtic saints (Brigid of Kildare this year) often do very well in Lent Madness so it balances out.

San Diego State (Aztecs) -- The city is actually named for the 15th century Spaniard holy man San Diego of Alcala, not Juan Diego who made the 2015 Lent Madness bracket. Alas.

Xavier University (Musketeers) -- This institution is named for St. Francis Xavier, the Spanish Jesuit who was co-founder of the Society of Jesus.

Southern Methodist University (Mustangs) -- When you put "Methodist" in the name, you are clearly a religious institution. Plus, Charles Wesley is a former Golden Halo winner.

Villanova University (Wildcats) -- Named for Saint Thomas Villanova, 16th century Spanish friar.

THE PERHAPS

Schools in The Perhaps category may have some redeeming saintly qualities. Or perhaps not:

North Carolina (Tar Heels) -- The Carolinas (north and south) were named for Charles I or England (Carolus is Latin for Charles). While Charles is commemorated by some Anglicans as Charles the Martyr, he is not on the official calendar of the Episcopal Church. His Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, however was defeated in the first round of Lent Madness 2015 by Kamehameha.

North Carolina State (Wolfpack) -- See above.

Coastal Carolina (Chanticleers) -- See above. BUT they get points for having a mascot that is associated with the thrice-denying apostle Peter. Also, what's up with so many teams from North Carolina?!

Valparaiso University (Crusaders) --  If nothing else, they get the award for the most un-politically correct mascot name. "Onward, Christian soldiers!"

University of Louisville (Cardinals) -- The city in Kentucky is not named for St. Louis the IX of France. No, it's named for Louis XVI -- who is not a saint. HOWEVER the mascot is named for an ecclesiastical order of the Roman Catholic Church.

Virginia Commonwealth (Rams) -- At first glance, the VCU mascot would be more at home in Los Angeles or St. Louis where the NFL team of the same name once resided and currently resides. HOWEVER the team is named for the animal caught in the thicket after God tells Abraham to stop the presses and not sacrifice his son Isaac after all.

Eastern Washington (Eagles) -- They get points because they named their mascot after the symbol of the Fourth Evangelist.

THE GIVE ME A BREAK

Teams falling under The Give Me a Break rubric shouldn't be listed here at all. Yet here they are:

Maryland (Terps) -- This would be listed under "The Obvious" except that the state is not actually named for the Virgin Mary. Rather for King Charles I of England's wife Queen Henrietta Maria (Queen Mary).

Virginia (Cavaliers) -- Ditto. Virginia was not named for the Virgin Mary but for the Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen."

Louisiana State University (Tigers) -- Not named for St. Louis (who once appeared in Lent Madness) but rather Louis XIV or France.

Kentucky University (Wildcats) -- Contrary to popular belief, Kentucky was not named for Lent Madness 2015 participant Thomas Ken.

Georgetown University (Hoyas) -- Named for neither St. George nor his dragon nor former Golden Halo winner George Herbert, nor Scott's dog George. Rather Georgetown is named for either George II of England or the town's two founders -- both named George.

Duke University (Blue Devils) -- It doesn't matter how many games or titles Coach K has won. Your team is named after (a blue-tinted plural version of) Satan.

If your Lent Madness bracket has been hopeless busted, you may well decide to fill out the "other" bracket. Go ahead. And if you enter an office pool, we definitely suggest you use this analysis to decide all your picks. Or at least invoke St. Matthias, the unofficial patron saint of gambling (he was chosen to be an apostle by the casting of lots).

The Saintly Sixteen continues with a Hawaiian king vs. the first Native American saint. Kamehameha takes on David Oakerhater as a man passionate about the medical care of his people faces a man whose Cheyenne name is translated "Making Medicine." Regardless of the outcome, one thing is certain: one of Neva Rae Fox's saints will advance to the next round.

In yesterday's first battle of the Saintly Sixteen, Brendan the Navigator finally lost his way, losing to Thecla 62% to 38%. Thecla becomes the first saint of Lent Madness 2015 to advance to the Elate Eight where she'll face the winner of Francis of Assisi vs. Cecilia.

After today's vote is decided, Lent Madness will resume first thing Monday morning as Cuthbert takes on Molly Brant. Stay tuned for more saintly action!

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Welcome to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen! With Barbara's defeat at the hands of Thomas Ken 67% to 33%, we've collectively narrowed the field down from 32 saints to 16. Now the truly hard work begins on the journey towards the 2015 Golden Halo. 

Lent Madness, like Lent, is part endurance race and we encourage those who have come thus far — both voters and contestants — to buckle down for the duration and, in the words of Saint Paul, to “Run with perseverance the race that is set before you.”

In this round, we move past basic biographies and delve into what we like to call “Quirks and Quotes.” We’ll learn some unusual facts about our saints and hear about them, either in their own words or in words uttered or written about them. Some of our holy men and women are quirkier than others and some are more quotable. As always, remember these matchups are neither fair nor for the faint of heart. If you want a bland Lenten devotion you’ve come to the wrong place.

The Saintly Sixteen begins today with Brendan the Navigator taking on Thecla. If you need a refresher from the first round you can do one of two things: consult your handy Saintly Scorecard or click the Bracket tab and scroll down. Our Bracket Czar, Adam Thomas, provides links to every previous matchup meaning you can, with just a few clicks, access the initial bios. Now go read and vote. There is work to be done!

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It's here, it's here! No, not the final battle of the First Round -- though that's an important milestone in Lent Madness 2015. But  the matchup everyone's been talking about (or at least Tim and Scott) since the inception of the bracket: Barbie vs. Ken! The 3rd century saint vs. the 17th century English bishop and hymn writer. The winner will face Egeria and the matchups for the Saintly Sixteen will be complete. View the complete (and updated daily) bracket here.

Yesterday, South African missionary and martyr Bernard Mizecki was able to accomplish something that a dragon could not: vanquish Margaret of Antioch. With a 57% to 43% margin of victory, Bernard advances to the Saintly Sixteeen where he will square off against Jackson Kemper.

Enjoy this last matchup of the Round of 32 and gird your loins for tomorrow's start of the Saintly Sixteen as Brendan the Navigator faces Thecla.

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In the penultimate battle of the first round, we have a South African missionary and martyr taking on an early 4th century martyr from Antioch. Courage (and at least one dragon) abounds in this battle between Bernard Mizeki and Margaret of Antioch with the winner to face Jackson Kemper in the Saintly Sixteen.

Yesterday in the Battle of the Greats, Dionysius the Great proved his greatness by defeating Irene the Great, 58% to 42%. Wondering how things are progressing? Check out the updated Bracket.

And in case you missed this week's stirring edition of Monday Madness: Global Edition, Tim and Scott awarded the first ever Lent Madness Medal of Valor. Oh, and they also coined the term "Servermaggedon."

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This week's episode of Monday Madness is especially exciting, because Tim and Scott are 7,000 miles apart. Tim is still snowed in, whilst Scott is in Kenya on a pilgrimage with Episcopal Migration Ministries. But that's not all! For the first time ever, the Supreme Executive Committee awards the Lent Madness Medal of Valor for service above and beyond the call of Lent Madness. Tune in to see who won, and why! Also, when you watch this very special episode, you can be present for the creation and first use of a new word: servermageddon.

Scott also models a Lent Madness Purple T-Shirt, and you can own one too! The offer to autograph your shirt is for real. Just attach your request to a $20 bill with a paperclip, and Scott will consider it carefully.

Remember that passage in the synoptic gospels (Luke 2:24, Matthew 18:1, Mark 9:34) where the disciples start arguing about which one of them is the greatest? Jesus basically tells them to get a life (by losing it). Here at Lent Madness, however, Dionysius and Irene are battling to resolve the question once and for all. In the Battle of the Greats, Dionysius the Great takes on Irene the Great as we crank things back up for another week of saintly action. The winner will take on Brigid of Kildare.

We're glad to have the drama of Friday's server crash behind us and Lent Madness is now being hosted on a shiny new purple server using a company that understands "unlimited bandwidth" to actually mean "unlimited bandwidth." So, vote (once), comment, tell all all your friends to log on at the exact same moment and we should be fine. Thanks for collectively having the patience of a, well, saint. 

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Dear Lent Madness Faithful,

Early this morning, at about 8:20 am EST, the Lent Madness website went down. You probably heard the collective weeping and gnashing of teeth that rang out all over the globe. Or you may have noticed the uptick in purple votive candle sales that impacted the international markets.

After a lot of hard work, we are pleased to announce that the saintly smackdown is back up and running. Scott and Celebrity Blogger David Sibley (hard core technophiles) were able to remedy the presenting issue. This was particularly impressive since Scott is currently in Rwanda on a pilgrimage with Episcopal Migration Ministries. Also, when it comes to technical fixes, Tim is useless.

Our (soon to be former) hosting company 1and1 shut the site down due to high volume without giving us any notice. The good news is that we are provisionally back up and running and you can now go vote in today’s matchup between Balthazar and Cecilia. . The bad news is that we will need to shut the site down again to switch servers (hopefully on Sunday so it won’t affect voting). We’ll keep you posted.

Update 11:13 PM EST: Because of the high server load, things continue to be quite slow and a bit dicey - but voting is open, and votes are being recorded. Our advice: keep trying to vote!

In order to give both Balthazar and Cecilia their due. We are extending the voting period until tomorrow (Saturday) at 2:00 pm EST.  Then the polls will close and all will be right with the world. For the time being.

Now, to assign blame. That’s the Christian thing to do, right? We have several working theories:
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In the final battle of a week filled with saintly thrills and spills, Balthazar squares off against Cecilia. And you, yes YOU, get to decide whether to vote against Christmas pageants or against church choirs. So good luck with that. Actually, both saints have inspired many people over the generations -- from those who love frankincense, to those who are allergic to it; from those with melodic voices to the tone deaf.

Yesterday's hotly contested battle between Egeria and Hildegard of Bingen ended with the bracket-busting Egeria edging out Hildegard by the slimmest of margins, 51% to 49%. With almost 6,800 votes cast, Egeria prevailed by less than 140. See, your (single) vote counts!

While we've had our share of nail biters over the years, this ranks up there and was the first truly close battle of Lent Madness 2015. And the comments. The comments! We set a record for most comments ever with nearly 370. Kudos to the commenters!

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Today it's Egeria vs. Hildegard of Bingen. The world's original "Mystery Worshipper" vs. a 12th century renaissance woman. Both have had a major impact upon the Christianity we have inherited, yet only one will advance to the Saintly Sixteen. We're expecting a flurry of comments on this. Let the agonizing over votes begin!

But first, speaking of comments, sometime during yesterday's battle between Jackson Kemper and Margery Kempe, we passed the 20,000 comment milestone on the Lent Madness website. That's a lot of conversation about holy people, don't you think?

Oh, and Kemper trounced Kempe 74% to 26% meaning he'll face the winner of Bernard Mizecki vs. Margaret of Antioch in the Saintly Sixteen.

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