How it Works (Rules, How to Enter, Random Prize):
Rules
Again, this year there is a "First Four" Round (Round 1). You do not have to pick the play-in games in the First Four round.
Scoring and tiebreakers for the poll are as follows:
1. If you pick a winning team, you collect one or more points. Points are awarded by round as follows:
3. If you pick a 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16 seed to win in ANY round, and they do, you receive an extra 3 points
4. Tiebreakers are awarded as follows (and no we don't do them coin tosses here: "Pittsburgh captain, call it in the air - teads or hails?")
6. BUT EVEN THEN YOU CAN STILL WIN!
Scroll below to see how to win our random prize this year.
7. That's all folks!
....except 25 points goes to Cue Ball or Wink for each entry
Scoring and tiebreakers for the poll are as follows:
1. If you pick a winning team, you collect one or more points. Points are awarded by round as follows:
- Correct first round winner: 1 point per team
- Correct second round winner: 2 points per team
- Correct regional first round winner: 3 points per team
- Correct regional second round winner: 4 points per team
- Correct winner from Final Four round: 6 points per team
- Correct champion: 10 points
3. If you pick a 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16 seed to win in ANY round, and they do, you receive an extra 3 points
4. Tiebreakers are awarded as follows (and no we don't do them coin tosses here: "Pittsburgh captain, call it in the air - teads or hails?")
- PICKED NATIONAL CHAMPION
- MOST CORRECT TEAMS IN SWEET 16
- MOST NUMBER OF CORRECT WINS IN TOURNAMENT
- IF TIED, THE PRIZES ARE REALLOCATED AND SPLIT AMONG THE TIED ENTRIES
6. BUT EVEN THEN YOU CAN STILL WIN!
Scroll below to see how to win our random prize this year.
7. That's all folks!
....except 25 points goes to Cue Ball or Wink for each entry
How to Enter the Pool
After Selection Sunday, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with the bracket will be available for you to download from our home page.
This spreadsheet is a facsimile (love using big words) of the actual bracket. You can click on the link and save the file to your hard drive for your prognostic, prognosticate, proganastical - PICKS!
Each cell on the spreadsheet has a pop-up menu so you can pick the winner of each game. You do not have to type in team names - in fact, that's real annoying. Just click on each entry box and pick the team from the menu you believe will win each game.
Then, email back to us at "[email protected]" with your modest entry (see rules) and you're ready to be completely disappointed on opening weekend. But it's fun leading up to it anyway!
This spreadsheet is a facsimile (love using big words) of the actual bracket. You can click on the link and save the file to your hard drive for your prognostic, prognosticate, proganastical - PICKS!
Each cell on the spreadsheet has a pop-up menu so you can pick the winner of each game. You do not have to type in team names - in fact, that's real annoying. Just click on each entry box and pick the team from the menu you believe will win each game.
Then, email back to us at "[email protected]" with your modest entry (see rules) and you're ready to be completely disappointed on opening weekend. But it's fun leading up to it anyway!
Random Prize
This year, even if you lose you can still win! Isn't Democracy great?
To be eligible for the random prize, the only criteria is that you have not placed in the
top prizes at the end of the tournament and you have submitted your entry fee.
Sounds easy, but you'd be surprised!
This is how it works:
So, this year, it's not that you lost, but how well you lost that counts!
To be eligible for the random prize, the only criteria is that you have not placed in the
top prizes at the end of the tournament and you have submitted your entry fee.
Sounds easy, but you'd be surprised!
This is how it works:
- Assume there are winning prizes for the top 8 entries
- The entries that have placed 9th highest and below are eligible for the random prize
- Only those entries that have submitted the entry fee are eligible to win
- Take the final score of the championship game and subtract the scores of the teams (e.g., in 2005, it was UNC 75 ILLINOIS 70) - the result would be 5
- Starting with the first losing entry (e.g., place #9) count down 5 places (e.g., place #13 - 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- If the entry in place #13 had submitted an entry fee, they win the random prize
- If not, the person in place #14 does, or so on, until the random prize is won.
So, this year, it's not that you lost, but how well you lost that counts!
