2003 BigFlax.com NCAA Tournament Challenge Official Rules
1. Eligibility
a. To be eligible for the 2003 BigFlax.com NCAA Tournament Challenge,
you must be someone known to Robert Flaxman (hereafter "me").
b. This means random people who wander onto the site are not eligible.
c. You must have a way to get me the tournament fee of $5 before the
tournament ends (i.e. before Monday, April 7).
d. Students at Northwestern have no excuse for not getting me the money
before the tournament begins.
e. To further clear up part A, this also means individuals known to me
cannot bring friends not known to me into the fold.
2. Time Frame
a. I will be sending out computerized brackets on or shortly after
Selection Sunday using Microsoft Excel. If you do not have Microsoft Excel, you will
be responsible for submitting a list or some other formatted (and understandable) version
of your picks to me by any method you see fit to use (this may include filling out a
printed bracket and handing it to me, as some chose to do last year).
b. All picks must be delivered to me by midnight Central Time on
Wednesday, March 20, since games start on Thursday, March 21. We will not be picking
the play-in game.
3. Scoring
a. Basic scoring will be conducted identically to preceding years,
viz.: 10 points for each correct first-round game; 20 points for each correct second-round
game; 40 points for each correct Sweet 16 game; 80 points for each correct Elite 8 game;
120 points for each correct Final Four game; 160 points for a correct prediction of the
national championship game.
b. Most of you will be familiar with last year's introduction of the
new bonus plan, the alliteratively titled "Balls Bonus." But here is an
explanation for newcomers or those who need a refresher. Any player projecting an
upset of five seeds or more will receive points on the following scale:
#11 seed wins: 10 points
#12 seed wins: 15 points
#13 seed wins: 20 points
#14 seed wins: 30 points
#15 seed wins: 40 points
#16 seed wins: 50 points
These apply to wins in any round by a team of these seeds. In the second round and
later, upsets of between five and nine seeds (examples: #7 or #10 beats #2; #8 or #9 beats
#1; #6 beats #1; etc.) that do not involve #11-#16 seeds will also be awarded points on
the following scale:
Five seeds (6-1 [rf], 7-2 [sr], 8-3 [rf], 9-4 [rs], 10-5 [rf]): 10
points
Six seeds (7-1 [rf], 8-2 [rf], 9-3 [rf], 10-4 [rf]): 15 points
Seven seeds (8-1 [sr], 9-2 [rf], 10-3 [rs]): 20 points
Eight seeds (9-1 [sr], 10-2 [sr]): 25 points
Nine seeds (10-1 [rf]): 30 points
Letters in brackets show the rounds in which upsets of these seed pairings could happen.
sr = second round; rs = regional semis or Sweet 16; rf = regional finals or Elite
8. Also be aware that, theoretically, any such upset could happen in the Final Four.
d. Examples of how this scoring would work:
Correctly picking #5 Virginia over #12 Gonzaga earns you ten
points. Correctly picking #12 Gonzaga over #5 Virginia earns you a total of 25
points (10 base + 15 bonus).
Correctly picking #1 Stanford over #9 St. Joseph's in Round Two earns
you twenty points. Correctly picking #9 St. Joseph's over #1 Stanford in Round Two
earns you 45 points (20 base + 25 bonus).
e. Be aware that you do not get points for predicting a seeded upset in
the later rounds if it doesn't happen. For example, in 2001, Drew picked #10
Georgetown to upset #2 Iowa State and move into the Sweet 16. Georgetown moved into
the Sweet 16. Does Drew receive 45 points for this? No, he receives 20,
because Georgetown beat #15 Hampton in the second round, thus removing the upset.
f. As something of an addendum to (e): for #11s through #16s, you
receive points regardless of who they beat. For #6 through #10 seeds, they must
actually pull the upset. If #11 Temple beats #6 Texas in Round One, you get 20
points (10 base + 10 bonus. If #11 Temple wins in Round Two, you get 30 points (20
base + 10 bonus) regardless of whether their win is an upset over #3 Florida or a
non-upset over #14 Western Kentucky.
By comparison, look again at the Georgetown example. Because
Georgetown is a #10 seed, they must actually pull the second round upset. If they
defeat #2 Iowa State as predicted, you get 45. If they defeat #15 Hampton as not
predicted, you get 20.
Here's one on you: what if you pick Hampton to win and Georgetown to
beat them, but then Iowa State wins and Georgetown beats them anyway? Do you get 45
or 20? Answer: 20, because you didn't pick the upset. You have to pick the
upset and be right.
g. The two tiebreakers this year will be the same as last year.
First, the score of the title game; if this is the same, I'm asking all entrants to submit
their birthdays. The birthday closest to the birthday of the Final Four MVP will be
the tiebreaker. On the unbelievable chance that this doesn't break it, I'll flip a
coin.
3. Fees and Prizes
a. Tournament entry fee is $5.
b. The first-place finisher will receive all entry fees up to and
including total monies of $75 (15 entrants).
c. If 16 people are entered, the first-place finisher will receive $75
and the last-place finisher will be refunded.
d. If 17-21 people are entered, the first-place finisher will receive
$75, the last-place finisher will be refunded, and the second-place finisher will receive
between $5 and $25.
e. More entrants than this will result in a prize scheme to be
announced. (Don't hold your breath.)