2017 HWCI NCAA Pool Update

Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Issue # 6.2.3 "Six Conferences Battle it Out for Supremacy"
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RECORD NUMBER OF ENTRIES ADD 7TH MONEY SPOT
ACC implosion means just 7 eliminated entries can win $40 Bonus

CERRITOS APT/EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt)- The top overall seed Villanova and 2 seeds Duke and Louisville are no more in somewhat of a chalk tournament thus far. 12 of the top 16 seeds are in the Sweet 16. While there have been no buzzer beaters or overtime games, there has been a lot of drama watching teams make clutch play after play (while you are taking a breather, take a listen to one of the unsigned bands Paul T (Poolrider) helps promote, Foreign Figures). Our 23rd year saw a record number of entries (178) from a record number of people (124), some making their appearance for the first time since 2002. For the first time, we will have SEVEN money spots as we have $1,780 to divvy out. The top prize will be $690, $95 more than last year. The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. So we have those top seven spots plus the Bonus. What's the Bonus? Read on...

As it has been for the past 13 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 7 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 (Air Fabone 23), says "Winningest Conference(s): ACC | Wins: 21", means that by the way I picked my bracket (and please laugh), the ACC conference will get the most wins with 21 (which won't happen by a long shot).

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

1. First Four wins do not count
2. The top 7 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 12 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 ACC was the winningest conference with 19 wins. But if no one correctly picks the winningest conference and wins, then 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 7 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 178 entries ($1,780). So, here is the official prize breakdown:

     1st Place = $690.00
     2nd Place = $355.00
     3rd Place = $240.00
     4th Place = $180.00
     5th Place = $ 130.00
     6th Place = $ 85.00
     7th Place = $60.00
     Bonus Prize =$ 40.00

Bonus1 Prize Analysis

What this means is that of the 45 entries that were eliminated from the top 7 prizes, 7 of those entries are back into play! Overall, 33 of 178 entries still have a chance for Bonus1 (which is not as bad as in 2010 when 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 Pac 12's USC won the First Four game you'd have to add your predicted USC wins to your total) 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 Pac12 only shows 7 wins below where it really has 8 due to USC's First Four win). Right now, of the 7 conferences represented in the Sweet 16, 6 conferences have a chance to get or share the most number of wins:

          Teams   Curr   Max Poss
Conf.      Left   Wins   Wins
-------    ----- ----   ----
Big10        3      8     16
Big12        3    7^    16
Pac12        3      7^    16
SEC          3      7     15
ACC          1      7     11
BigEast      2      5     12
x-WCC        1      3      7
    x-Eliminated ^-Kansas St (Big12) and USC (Pac12) wins in First Four do not count

The ACC led with 155 of 178 entries thinking they would be the winningest conference followed by the Pac 12 with 17, the Big 12 with 9, the Big 10 with 5, the Big East with 3, and of course, thanks to Ken B (Gators Resurgence), the SEC with one. 23 entries each picked the ACC with 16 wins.

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

Conf.   Teams Left (1st Rnd W-L, 2nd Rnd W-L)
-----   ----------
Big10   WISCONSIN, PURDUE, MICHIGAN (5-2, 3-2)
Big12   BAYLOR, WEST VIRGINIA, KANAS (4-2, 3-1)
Pac12   ARIZONA, OREGON, UCLA (4-0, 3-1)
SEC     FLORIDA, SOUTH CAROLINA, KENTUCKY (4-1, 3-1)
ACC     NORTH CAROLINA (6-2, 1-5)
BigEast XAVIER, BUTLER (3-3, 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 pool started with 3 money spots in '95 and the top prize was just $70 from 12 entries... as the pool grew the prizes have expanded over the years (4th place '98, Bonus '03, 5th place '08, and 6th place '11)... ten entries are still alive thanks to the 7th place spot... Michael W (Go Big Blue!) reminded me that outside my left coast bubble, "USC" stands for the University of South Carolina and my ala mater is called the "rubbers" :-)... one of Tom C's (Tom) African sons is playing with #8-CAL BRACKET-Cal State Bakersfield and Fallou Ndoye and the team have advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals visiting #6-CAL BRACKET-UT-Arlington 6 p.m. PDT Wednesday night...BTW, the ACC isn't fairing so well in the NIT either with #1-SYRACUSE BRACKET-Syracuse ousted in the 2nd round and #2-IOWA BRACKET-Clemson losing in the first round; only #6-SYRACUSE BRACKET-Georgia Tech is still alive in the Quarterfinal...

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Just a voyeur until Bonus2...
Scott