Warning: This page contains spoilers for the March 4, 2024, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Poets of Ancient Rome) for Monday, March 4, 2024 (Season 40, Game 126):
Far from Rome, this first century poet wrote, “The leader’s anger done, grant me the right to die in my native country”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ike Barinholtz, a producer, writer & actor from Chicago, Illinois
|
Melissa Klapper, a professor from Merion Station, Pennsylvania
|
Ray Lalonde, a scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
After last week saw many upsets, we move on to Quarterfinal #7 of the Tournament of Champions. Today is probably the most intriguing matchup of the round, with #2 seeded Ray Lalonde taking on 3-time champion Melissa Klapper and Celebrity winner Ike Barinholtz. Being the first Celebrity winner to compete at the Tournament of Champions level, many fans are very interested to see how well Ike will acclimatize to this level of competition. Ike has some strengths here—he is very strong on the buzzer, and his pop culture knowledge is incredibly strong; he’s even above average in several pop culture categories in the more-difficult LearnedLeague. I think that a lot of fans are going to underestimate how well Ike will do here.
I don’t think Ray has a red carpet to the semifinals in this one—3-day champions like Melissa have played extremely well in this tournament and it would not surprise me to see a strong performance out of her today.
Another reminder that I have started a Sunday mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!
If you’re looking for a quick rundown of what happened last week, I write a weekly recap column for Geeks Who Drink’s Questionist, released every Sunday. Yesterday’s column was titled “Bracket Buster”. Questionist also has a newsletter that you can sign up for!
(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2024? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
Do you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan? Would you like to make a one-time contribution to the site? You may do so here!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 17 players, now including Adriana Harmeyer, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
Correct response: Who was Ovid?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Early in the first century AD, the famous Roman poet Ovid was banished to the Black Sea port of Tomis (current-day Constanța, Romania), likely for falling politically afoul of Augustus Caesar, though his Ars Amatoria is often blamed.
Ovid’s sadness at his exile out to the extreme reaches of the Roman Empire, especially to a place where nobody spoke Latin, was outlined in his works Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto. Ovid was not granted the right he wished in the quote in today’s clue; he died in Tomis c.17 AD.
This should be a relatively straightforward Final Jeopardy, as long as players don’t overthink it. Essentially, “name a Roman poet from the time frame” will hopefully be enough to get many to the correct response here. (In fact, it would not surprise me to see a higher-than-usual number of “blind guesses” today.)
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Here are our current featured items, including our new Masters Season 3 Player List T-shirt:
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, March 4, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Nonfiction; I Heard A Rumor; Hobbies & Pastimes; “V”acation Spots; Cocktails; Happy Hour)
Although there were 5 Triple Stumpers in the opening segment, all three players got off to a good start and were within $800 after 15 clues.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Melissa 4 correct 1 incorrect
Ray 3 correct 0 incorrect
Ike 3 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Ike feels like a guinea pig a little bit.
Melissa got lots of pictures of people doing ballet after her run.
Ray has his twin brother in the audience.
While Melissa only got two correct after the break, Ike picked up 7 and Ray 6—the game is afoot!
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Ray 9 correct 0 incorrect
Ike 10 correct 0 incorrect
Melissa 6 correct 1 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Ray $5,400
Ike $4,800
Melissa $3,800
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: French History; Numeric Movie Titles; Lecturing You On Science; Languages; A Li’l Ballet, A Li’l Opera; 5-Syllable Words)
It’s almost like the prediction model knows what it’s talking about. Ike found the Daily Double on clue #8 and a True Daily Double jumped him into the lead! However, some clue selection missteps gave Melissa an opening—and she took full advantage, picking up $8,000 on the last Daily Double! Meanwhile, Ray played extremely well in the last part of the round, bringing himself close to Ike’s score going into Final!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Melissa 14 correct 1 incorrect
Ike 17 correct 3 incorrect
Ray 17 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Melissa $21,400
Ike $14,800
Ray $13,800
Ray got Final Jeopardy correct. Ike got Final Jeopardy correct. Melissa, however, went for Juvenal—and Ike Barinholtz is a semifinalist!
Tonight’s results:
Ray $13,800 + $8,000 = $21,800 (Who is Ovid?)
Ike $14,800 + $13,801 = $28,601 (Who is Ovid?) (Semi-Finalist)
Melissa $21,400 – $8,201 = $13,199 (Who is Juvenal)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) NONFICTION $600 (clue #14)
Melissa 1600 +1600 (Ray 2600 Ike 2400)
2) NUMERIC MOVIE TITLES $1200 (clue #8)
Ike 7600 +7600 (Ray 7000 Melissa 7400)
3) LANGUAGES $1200 (clue #19, $10800 left on board)
Melissa 11400 +8000 (Ray 7400 Ike 13600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 270
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ray 4 4 5 3 3
Melissa 5 4 3*
Ike 4 5 3 4 4 5
DJ! Round:
Ray 4 4
Melissa 4 3 5 2 3 5 3 4 5 3*
Ike 4 5 3* 2† 1† 1 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ike 3.31
Ray 3.86
Melissa 3.77
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ike $8,400 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Ray $13,800 Coryat, 17 correct, 0 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Melissa $13,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 1 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $35,800
Lach Trash: $14,000 (on 12 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,200
Lead Changes: 11
Times Tied: 1
Player Statistics:
Ray Lalonde, career statistics:
372 correct, 43 incorrect
26/29 on rebound attempts (on 53 rebound opportunities)
41.05% in first on buzzer (351/855)
16/20 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $36,800)
13/15 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,547
Melissa Klapper, career statistics:
89 correct, 14 incorrect
7/7 on rebound attempts (on 22 rebound opportunities)
28.77% in first on buzzer (82/285)
6/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $13,100)
2/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,840
Ike Barinholtz, career statistics:
150 correct, 6 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities)
45.31% in first on buzzer (140/309)
8/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $47,600)
4/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,225
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I’m not going to say “I told you so”, but maybe—just maybe—we as a fandom could respect Celebrity Jeopardy a little bit more going forward?
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Melissa $21,400 Ike $14,800 Ray $13,800)
Ray: Limit your bet to $600 to stay ahead of Melissa if she is incorrect. (Actual bet: $8,000)
Melissa: Standard cover bet over Ike is $8,201. (Actual bet: $8,201)
Ike: You can’t both cover Ray and win a Double Stumper with Melissa. Either bet $399 or less, or at least $12,801. (Actual bet: $13,801)
Updated ToC odds:
Luigi +440
Jared +500
Yogesh +530
Emily +730
Ike +1100
Ben +1100
Brian +1300
David +1500
Troy +1700
Sean +2900
Emmett +4500
Justin +6200
Deb +10000
Finals length odds:
3 games: +690
4 games: +310
5 games: +220
6 games: +290
7 games: +720
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
Being unsure of the exact dates, I guessed Horace.
Definitely a “Blind Guess” situation for me. One of those where, looking at the category, my brain immediately said, “If it’s not Ovid, I don’t really have a chance here”.
Not being familiar with the tidbit of history in the clue, it was between Ovid and Seneca for me…and I overthought it and went with Seneca, thinking he was the more “political” of the two. 🙁 Looking up the history this morning, it appears that Seneca was more of a dramatist than a poet, so there you go.
I guessed “Who is Ovid?”, mainly because he was the only Roman poet I could think of.
That’s what Andy meant by anticipating “blind guesses”.
Same here.
Me three.
I got this so fast, I thought they were going easy on Ike! But this was one of my sweet spots.
I am a big fan of the celebrity tournament. To me, they focus now less on celebrity status and more on who can actually play the game. Means the categories/questions can be tougher. Some of the prior celebrity tournaments were painful to watch. I thought this season’s tournament was very enjoyable. And Ike wasn’t the only good contestant in it. One thing I think that shows (and having the multiple mini-tournaments building up to ToC) is that competition helps everyone.
I watched a rerun over the weekend (was during a recent regular season) and I was thinking about how long its been since we have seen the slate of contestants announced with a returning champion with an x-day total of $yyy. Its been a string of one and dones and 2 day finals. Its been very enjoyable but a change of pace.
What is Ike playing for? Is it charity, or is this time for himself? If he somehow wins the whole thing, he’ll actually win less playing the TOC than playing players like Jalen Rose lol
“Far from Rome” is Ovid (I don’t know of another Roman poet who was well-known to be in exile), and as far as blind guesses go, my blind guess for “Poets of Ancient Rome” is always Catullus. 🙂
Dude, feel free to say I told you so. I know I’ve got a whole list of personalized texts to send out once I can be sure I’m not spoiling anyone, haha.
I saw so many people rolling their eyes at your pre-tournament commentary. For some reason, people can’t seem to wrap their head around the idea that the difficulty of the questions in CJ doesn’t necessarily reflect the skill level of any individual contestant.
If Andy really wasn’t going to say “I told you so,” he would have left it out entirely rather than qualifying it as he did. He absolutely, unequivocally, is saying that. Indeed, my first reaction upon reading that was to roll my eyes and exclaim “Spare us the faux display of humility!” He’s totally entitled to take a victory lap around both the Avalon Peninsula and the iRacing circuit of his choice.
In contrast to his prediction four weeks ago that Ike wouldn’t have the lowest Coryat in this round, his victory absolutely does validate the prediction model.
To Brian M.’s remarks above — I think the only really comparable Celebrity or Power Players competition from the past was the Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational in 2009-10. Other such play was one and done, and I don’t think the winner’s charity ever got more than $50,000. And looking back at the MDCI final, it was fiercely contested, just as much so as the finals of both seasons of prime time CJ have been.
Add to that the rate at which top seeds have fallen in the first six quarterfinals, and no viewer should have counted Ike out going in.
Andy; from your comment about and LearnedLeague, plus his success in today’s game, one can definetly say that he is not a stereotypical celebrity player. I don’t recall hearing it mentioned/ but I presume rhat Ike’s winnings are going to chairity. What is his chairity?
As for this Final Jeopardy, I know so little on the subject, I couldn’t even make a blind guess.
Ike can certainly chose to donate to charity any winnings from this tournament, but I do not think he should be required to (nor even expected to). This is a whole different level of personal involvement, preparation, etc. and I think he should stand to gain from it himself.
Not to mention the moral hazard of one player playing for charity while everyone else is playing for themselves, meaning if you beat him you’d pretty much be directly taking money from a charity.
Same here on knowing so little, but I just “threw out there” Cicero. Looking it up afterward I found that I was within a 100 years or so and though maybe not a poet he WAS a writer, so I’m happy to get that close. Of course Juvenal was a VERY good guess, fitting all the rest of the clue, just NOT having been the one who said that.
While I agree with your thoughts I will add not all celebrities are created equal. Ike is on a different level of celebrity jeopardy gameplay. We like Ike!
I get the wider tournament, but things like this and really much of this whole tournament really make me miss the Wildcard element – not only allowing more nuanced strategy to final, but also keeping deserving players in past round 1 even if they don’t win.
This isn’t saying that Ike is undeserving – I really wanted to see more of him and am happy he is going on, same with many winners thus far, but I would also still love to see more from Chris Panullo, Or Hannah Wilson, or Ray Lalonde. After so many second chance aspects giving people a shot and making it in, I wish it wasn’t necessarily one-and-done here, at least for the first round.
I agree with respect to wildcards. Does change the strategy when you have to go for the win in a 1-and-done format rather than playing for a wildcard. Its similar to a multi-game series versus win and advance formula. Upsets are more likely with a one game format versus a series (and the longer the series, the less likely the favorite fails to advance).
Interesting in that Jeopardy has long had two day finals and now ‘first to 3″ finals. Those make upsets less likely. Guess they are looking at creating interest/chaos pre-final but further entrenching the opposite in the finals. That and expanding the field made it tougher to keep wildcards.