Basically, the way it works is you pick 8 teams, and for every game one of those teams wins, you get the number of points that corresponds with their seed. For example, if No. 13 Siena beats No. 4 Purdue, and you pick Siena as one of your 8 teams, you would get 13 points. If they go on to beat the 5/12 winner, you get 13 MORE points, and so on.
If a team you pick makes the Final Four, you get a bonus two points. You get an additional two bonus points for every game won after that. So, if you pick Duke to win it all (not recommended), you would get 1 point for every game won (6 points), plus an additional 6 bonus points. The person with the most points wins.
You can certainly devise your own strategy, but it’s worth noting that picking Siena to win one game is worth more points than a championship run by a 1-seed.
I’ll post everyone from the sports desk’s 8 teams Wednesday night and we’ll see who wins. And yes, I’ve picked my 8 teams already, so I’m not cheating and looking at who you guys pick. If you’ve stumbled upon this site and want to play along, leave your teams in the comment section by Wednesday night.
These are my picks, just so nobody thinks I’m picking last.
1. Kansas
2. Gonzaga
3. Cornell
4. Louisville
5. Utah State
6. St. Mary’s
7. Siena
8. UTEP
♫ Gonzaga
♪ Richmond
♫ San Diego State
♪ Siena
♫ Texas A&M
♪ UTEP
♫ Washington
♪ Xavier
Okay, this’ll be a long comment, but here’s the Collegian Sports desk’s picks, followed by the standings after the first round.
Justin Nutter:
Michigan State
Marquette
Kansas State
Kansas
Baylor
Kentucky
Texas A&M
West Virginia
Blake Thorson
Utah State
Ga. Tech
Baylor
Marquette
BYU
Butler
WVU
KU
Sam Nearhood
Kansas State
Washington
Georgetown
Sam Houston State
Notre Dame
Minnesota
Cornell
Vermont
Tyler Scott
1. Kansas
2. Michigan State
3. Marquette
4. Temple
5. West Virginia
6. Georgetown
7. Siena
8. Villanova
And here are the standings so far.
STANDINGS (Through round 1)
Grant – 31 (4 of 8 teams remaining)
Russ – 30 (4 of 8 teams remaining)
Blake – 28 (6 of 8 teams remaining)
Sam – 25 (3 of 8 teams remaining)
Justin – 19 (7 of 8 teams remaining)
Tyler – 10 (4 of 8 teams remaining)
Sam had a strong showing in the first, but is going to struggle with only 3 teams left in the field. Tyler and Justin’s seeds are both low, so they could struggle to gain points if any of the double-digit seeds advance to the Sweet 16.
STANDINGS (Through round 2)
Grant – 53 (2 of 8 teams remaining)
Sam – 50 (3 of 8 teams remaining)
Russ – 47 (2 of 8 teams remaining)
Blake – 38 (3 of 8 teams remaining)
Justin – 31 (5 of 8 teams remaining)
Tyler – 17 (2 of 8 teams remaining)
Looks like a three-man race from here on out. Sam is actually in the best position to win, with the potential to earn 25 points per round. I am in second, with 22, and Russ can earn 17 per round. Go St. Mary’s!
STANDINGS (Through Final Four round)
Justin – 56 (2 of 8 teams)
Grant – 53 (Done)
Sam – 52 (Done)
Blake – 47 (1 of 8 teams)
Russ – (Done)
Tyler – 35 (2 of 8 teams)
Well, Justin hit the jackpot with West Virginia and Michigan State. He can’t be caught at this point. Well done. There’s always next year.