2015 HWCI NCAA Pool Update

Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Issue # 7.2.3 "Second Chance Points"
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SPLITTING A RECORD POT OF $1,610
Bonus Prize means 143 entries can still win money

EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- The pace of entries never ceased (as an aside, take a listen to one of the unsigned bands Poolrider helps promote, Ceasefire) as we shattered the previous record of 138 entries by 23. For the fifth straight year, we will have six money spots as we have a record $1,610 to divvy out. The top prize will be a record $640 which is $85 more than the record in 2014. The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. So we have those top six spots plus the Bonus. What's the Bonus? Read on...

As it has been for the past 11 years, the Conference Wins is the Bonus Prize (as detailed below) (aka, Bonus1). However, if no one wins it, the Bonus2 takes effect and the entry who is closest to the Total Points in Final tiebreaker gets the Bonus Prize. We have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 6 will be eligible to win. Rules follow below...

Bonus1 - Winningest Conference

When you completed your online entry and saw your picks (to print out), some of you might have been wondering what the heck "Winningest Conference(s): ?? | Wins: #" meant. And thus, subliminally, you were also picking which conference would get the most wins in the tournament and how many wins that conference would get via your direct picks. Neat, eh? So that output, which in my case (Drunk Fabone), says "Winningest Conference(s): ACC | Wins: 14", means that by the way I picked my bracket (and don't laugh... or do), the ACC conference will get the most wins with 14.

The rules of how to win this Bonus Prize is as follows:

1. First Four wins do not count
2. The top 6 finishers are not eligible (so no double-dipping)
3. Ties broken by championship final score total
4. If there is *still* a tie, money is split
5. If 2 (or more) conferences tie for the most wins, both (or all) conferences must have been picked correctly
6. If entry has 2 or more conferences tied for most wins, only one must be correct to win (e.g. entry picks Pac 10 and Big 12 with 11 wins a piece and the Big 12 ends up winning the most games with 11, then contestant wins)

And, the Bonus Prize is worth $40, which is four years worth of losing brackets. Last year, the SEC was the winningest conference with 11 wins. But since no one correctly picks the winningest conference and wins, the the Bonus2 took effect. See below...

Bonus2 - Total Points in Final

If no one wins the Bonus1, then a second Bonus opportunity takes effect. The entry closest to the "Total points in final" tiebreaker wins the $40. In order to reward better play, the tiebreaker is the higher placement in the final pool standings.

The rules of how to win this Bonus Prize is as follows:

1. The top 6 finishers not eligible (so no double-dipping)
2. "Closest" can be above or below actual total (if actual is 144, 143 & 145 are both 1 point away)
3. Ties broken by highest placement (i.e., point total) in final pool standings
4. If there is *still* a tie, money is split

Prize Breakdown

We are officially at 161 entries ($1,610). So, here is the official prize breakdown:

     1st Place = $640.00
     2nd Place = $330.00
     3rd Place = $225.00
     4th Place = $170.00
     5th Place = $ 125.00
     6th Place = $ 80.00
     Bonus Prize =$ 40.00

Bonus1 Prize Analysis

What this means is that of the 52 entries that were eliminated from the top 6 prizes, 34 entries are back into play! So 120 of 161 entries still have a chance for Bonus1 (which is not as bad as in 2010 only 9 of 117 were alive for Bonus1).

If you don't have your bracket, then go to the "For the Record" page and pick your nickname from the drop down box. Because of the First Four, what you see might change (since the SEC's Ole Miss won the First Four game you'd have to add your predicted Ole Miss wins to your total (though it didn't matter in the end)) so go to the Bonus page for your official picks. Remember that the First Four wins do not count in the Winningest Conference calculation (that is why the SEC only shows 3 wins below where it really has 4 due to Ole Miss's First Four win). Right now, of the 8 conferences represented in the Sweet 16, 4 conferences have a chance to get or share the most number of wins (Note that the ACC is guaranteed at least 12 wins so the best the Big 12 can do is tie the ACC):

Teams      Curr   Max    Poss
Conf.      Left   Wins   Wins
-------    ----- ----   ----
ACC          5     11     22
Pac12        3    7     15
Big10        2      7     14
Big12        2     5     12
x-BigEast    1      5      9
x-SEC        1    3^     7
x-MVC        1      3      7
x-WCC        1      2      6
    x-Eliminated ^-Ole Miss win in First Four does not count

The Big 10 led with 138 entries thinking they would be the winningest conference followed by the Big 12 with 27, the Big 10 with 12, the Big East with 9, and the SEC with 1 (No Gators No Problem, of course). 19 entries each picked the Big 10 with 11 wins.

Below are the teams in the conferences that matter for the Bonus1.

Conf.   Teams Left (2nd Rnd W-L, 3rd Rnd W-L)
-----   ----------
ACC     NOTRE DAME, DUKE, LOUISVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, NC STATE (6-0, 5-1)
Pac12   ARIZONA, UCLA, UTAH (4-0, 3-1)
Big10   WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN ST (5-2, 2-3)
Big12   OKLAHOMA, WEST VIRGINIA (3-4, 2-1)

It's much too much to go through all the possibilities with four rounds remaining. But, if you do have a chance, this will guide you to which team to root for based on the conference the team is in.

Here is the link to what everyone picked. If your nickname is in red, that means you're eliminated from the top 6 prizes; if your conference is in red, you're eliminated from the Bonus1. The eligibility for the Bonus2 won't be discussed unless needed.

We are now on Twitter (@HWCI_Pools). Please follow! I will post using #hwcincaa mini-updates during the day so you can follow without being on Twitter (and if you are, please use #hwcincaa). Please join our Facebook HWCI NCAA Pool Group or post comments on our blog.

Tids & Bits - the 5th HWCI NCAA Final Four for Charity was won by Kevin T (Shake N Bake) going 3-1 and a point differential of 22... Wendy B (Buckeye23) also went 3-1 but had a differential of 25... in addition to the $22 raised for the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation by the 11 entries, I put in an additional $25 for breaking our entry record of 138 and four others have contributed $35 for a total of $82 (so far!)... four (Big Luthor, Chaka, Will I Ever Win This, and BobbyCee'sRacer'sEdge) still have their Elite 8 intact and 25 still have their Final Four intact... everyone still has at least 2 Final Four teams while four only have 3 of 8 Elite 8 teams alive... Bigtenfan3 lost 5 Elite 8 teams in the last round... only 17 have lost their champion (Iowa St, Villanova, Virginia, Maryland) but 10 still have a chance to finish in the top 6 and Alex Basketball and Fitz still have a chance to win the pool....

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So repair guy comes and says he can't fix it with replacement part because the screen is cracked (which I didn't see) and warranty probably won't cover it -- and they won't!...
Scott