Well, we have 101 entries which means we have $1,010 to split (ok, we haven’t collected everyone’s fee yet but we trust you enough that this we are declaring it official that we have 101 entries).  Since we are adding a 5th place prize, the prize breakdown will be as follows:

1st:  $440
2nd: $220
3rd: $150
4th: $100
5th: $ 60
Bonus: $40

As you can see, we had to take a little from the top 4 to give to the 5th place but that still means one more chance to finish in the money.  This means that Van P. will still be our largest single winner ($450 last year).  Like last year, the Bonus will be given, either to the one who correctly guesses the winningest conference and exact wins or if no one wins that, the closest to the total points in the final.  So the 13 eliminated entries have the Bonus to look forward to (only non-winners (i.e., places 6-101) can win the Bonus.  The winningest conference will be explained in the email update later tonight.  Good luck!

Possibilities report is up… only 13 have been eliminated while 55 can still win 1st. All fine and dandy. With the addition of the 5th place prize since we have 100+ entries, this has helped. There are 32,768 possible outcomes. Some, like FLYIN’ HAWAIIAN and FLYING ACE. have more than 16,000 possible good outcomes. So, I, THE FABONE 14, have exactly one chance to finish 5th. One. Maybe I should have nicknamed myself the Flying Fabone. In the history of the pool, no one has been given just one chance at this stage. It’s like the universe is saying, “Nah, your entry won’t die today, maybe the next day“. I don’t even know what that one chance is. Is it some rare combination where Western Kentucky defeats Villanova in the final or something else? I think it’s just cruel.