The rules are simple:
Scoring:
You will receive points for each correct game winner you choose. The number of points will be calculated as follows:
Round 1 win - 1pts
Round 2 win - 2pts
Round 3 win - 4pts
Round 4 win - 8pts
Round 5 win - 16pts
Pick Chamption - 32pts
Bonus Scoring!
If you get a pick correct you will also be awarded additional points equal to the winning teams Seed#.
For Example:
You pick a #1 Seed to beat a #16 Seed in Rd 1. You would receive 2pts (1pt for the Rd 1 win + 1pt for the Seed#)
You pick a #9 Seed to beat a #8 Seed in Rd 1. You would receive 10pts (1pt for the Rd 1 win + 9pts for the Seed#)
You pick an #11 Seed to beat a #4 Seed in Rd 2. You would receive 13pts (2pts for the Rd 2 win + 11pts for the Seed#)
You pick a #10 Seed to beat a #3 Seed in Rd 3. You would receive 14pts (4pts for the Rd 3 win + 10pts for the Seed#)
You pick a #11 Seed to beat a #1 Seed in Rd 4. You would receive 19pts (8pt for the Rd 4 win + 11pt for the Seed#)
You pick a #1 Seed to beat a #1 Seed in Rd 5. You would receive 17pts (16pt for the Rd 5 win + 1pt for the Seed#)
I might do a Sweet 16 "2nd chance pool" when the tournament gets to that point
Entry is open to anybody and everybody (with or without any knowledge of college basketball - but it usually helps). There is no entry fee and consequently no prizes - except personal satisfaction and bragging rights for one year!
Info On the 68-Team Format
The field will once again be 68 teams, with four play-in games. These four games (called the First Four) will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday night before the "real" 64-team tournament starts on Thursday.
It's not feasible to require people to get their picks in before Tuesday night and pick the play-in games. It's also not feasible to force everyone to wait until late Wednesday night (after the play-in games are done) before they can enter their picks. So what's the solution? You don't need to pick the winners in these games, but you still have the option of picking the play-in winner to advance in the "real" tournament.
An example might explain this better. Say the two teams playing in for a #12 seed are USC and Iowa and they'll eventually play #5 Florida. Starting Sunday night a Tournament Entry page will be available with a normal 64-team bracket. You'll see "Florida" as one choice and "USC/Iowa" as the other. If you think the USC-Iowa winner will beat Florida, just pick "USC/Iowa" to advance and you're good to go. It doesn't matter which team wins the play-in game. As long as the #12 seed moves past Florida, you get the game right.
Where it gets a little tricky is if you think USC would beat Florida, but Iowa would not. In that case you may want to wait until after the play-in games are done to submit your picks.
The deadline to submit your picks is 11:00 AM (EDT) on Thursday March 20th.
Have Fun and let the MADNESS Begin!!!
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