Brea, California (PRWEB) March 17, 2015
This year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has an animal loving vibe with 12 teams sporting dog or cat related nicknames. But which team will have the pet power to cut down the nets on April 6 in Indianapolis? Will it be the Wildcats – Kentucky, Villanova or Arizona? Or, will the championship go to the dogs – Gonzaga, Virginia or Butler? To predict the 2015 champion, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s first and largest provider of pet health insurance, analyzed its database of more than 525,000 insured pets to determine the March Madness winner based on pet name popularity.
Below is a list of the most popular pet names based on the teams participating in the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (total number of pets sharing that name in parenthesis):
Pet Name (number of pets) - 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Team
Duke (1,556) – Duke
Bear (1,498) – Baylor
Dakota (931) – North Dakota State
“George”town (640) - Georgetown
Tiger (516) – LSU
Jasper (490) – Manhattan
Louis (269) – Louisville
Georgia (241) – Georgia, Georgia State
Austin (168) – Stephen F. Austin
Rebel (127) – Ole Miss
Nova (113) – Villanova
Cowboy (93) – Okla. St., Wyoming
Bruin (80) – UCLA, Belmont
Aggie (55) – New Mexico State
Badger (50) - Wisconsin
Mary (48) – Maryland
“Jay”hawk (45) – Kansas
Bronco (45) – Boise State
Buckeye (39) – Ohio State
Blazer (32) – UAB
Hawkeye (27) – Iowa
Panther (26) – Northern Iowa
Carolina (21) – North Carolina, NC State, Coastal Carolina
Butler (19) – Butler
Hoosier (19) – Indiana
Irish (18) – Notre Dame
David (16) – Davidson
John (13) – St. John’s
Cougar (13) – BYU
Bull (12) – Buffalo
Crimson (11) - Harvard
The tournament will have plenty of canine support with the following breeds being represented:
Bulldogs – (3) Gonzaga, Butler and Georgia
Great Danes – Albany
Terriers – Wofford
Huskies – Northeastern
King Charles “Cavaliers” – Virginia
Cats litter the March Madness brackets as well, including:
Wildcats – (4) Kentucky, Villanova, Arizona and Davidson
Bearcats – Cincinnati
Based on pet name popularity, the Duke Blue Devils will upset top seeded Kentucky to win the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Duke ranks 36th overall on the list of VPI’s most popular pet names, which encompasses nearly 70,000 pet monikers from 525,000 insured pets. VPI pet names have already correctly predicted the NCAA College Football Champion and the Super Bowl Champion in 2015.
About Veterinary Pet Insurance
With more than 525,000 pets insured nationwide, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co./DVM Insurance Agency (VPI), a Nationwide company, is the first and largest pet health insurance provider in the United States. Since 1982, VPI has helped provide pet owners with peace of mind and is committed to being the trusted choice of America’s pet lovers.
VPI plans cover dogs, cats, birds and exotic pets for multiple medical problems and conditions relating to accidents, illnesses and injuries. Wellness coverage for routine care is available for an additional premium. Medical plans are available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Additionally, one in three Fortune 500 companies offers VPI Pet Insurance as an employee benefit.
Insurance plans are offered and administered by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company in California and DVM Insurance Agency in all other states. Underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company (CA), Brea, CA, an A.M. Best A rated company (2013); National Casualty Company (all other states), Madison, WI, an A.M. Best A+ rated company (2014). Veterinary Pet Insurance, VPI and the cat/dog logo are service marks of Veterinary Pet Insurance Company. Nationwide, the Nationwide N and Eagle, and Nationwide Is On Your Side are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. ©2015 Veterinary Pet Insurance Company and Nationwide. Pet owners can find VPI on Facebook or follow @VPI on Twitter. For more information about VPI, call 800-USA-PETS (800-872-7387) or visit petinsurance.com.