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TOP 7 PLUS THE BONUS ARE UP FOR GRABS
Including Bonus, 130 entries can still win money

RARE WORKDAY IN EL SEGUNDO, CA (smt) – The four double-digit seeds (#10, two #11s, #15) in the Sweet 16 match last year’s total with only the West getting all four top seeds in and the East losing #1 and #2.  While the NCAA contest produced 506 perfect East Regions, our 169 entries only managed to produce 8 with 3 of the 4 teams (no one had St. Peter’s).  While defending champ #1E-Baylor was not expected to repeat, #2E-Kentucky was a popular two seed to win it all (3rd highest pick (14) behind Gonzaga and Arizona).  While only four of 48 games (not including First Four) have ended with a 3 point margin or less, five games have gone to overtime.  #1MW-Kansas, #1W-Gonzaga, and #1S-Arizona all survived nail-biters in the 2nd round, with the Zona game going to overtime.  Only #5S-Houston has been stress free winning each game by at least 14 points.  Only 4 of the 16 2nd Round games were won by more than 10 points.

Our 27th year saw a second-best 169 entries from 106 people.  Of the 106, 27 entered twice (up 7 from last year) and 18 entered three times (down 4).  But thanks to all, we hit the magic number of 165 entries (I had to look at my own history links page to find out what I had set it to years back) which means we will have a 7th place prize for the 3rd time.  We will have eight money spots (top 7 plus Bonus) and we have $1,690 to divvy out. The top prize will be $650, $10 more than last year.  The prize distribution is listed below and as always, all fee money goes into prizes. What’s the Bonus? Read on…

As it has been for the past 17 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 (The Perfect Fabone), says “Winningest Conference(s): SEC | Wins: 11“, means that by the way I picked my bracket (and please laugh), the SEC (regardless of which SEC teams win) will get the most wins with 11. 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 (Total Pts in Final tiebreaker)
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 Pac 12 (first-time in our pool) got the winningest conference with 13 wins.  But if no one wins the Winningest Conference, then the Bonus2 takes 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 169 entries ($1,690). So, here is the official prize breakdown: 

     1st Place = $650.00
     2nd Place = $330.00
     3rd Place = $225.00
     4th Place = $170.00
     5th Place = $ 125.00
     6th Place = $ 90.00
     7th Place = $ 60.00
     Bonus Prize =$ 40.00 

Bonus1 Prize Analysis

What this means is that of the 59 entries that were eliminated from the top 7 prizes, 20 of those entries are back into play!  With the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, Big East, and Pac-12 still in it, 74 of 169 entries still have a chance for Bonus1.  And 130 of 169 (76.9%) have a chance of either the top 7 or bonus. 

If you don’t have your bracket, then go to the “Your Picks” page and pick your nickname from the drop down box. Because of the First Four, what you see might change (since the Big Ten’s Indiana and ACC’s Notre Dame won the First Four game you’d have to add your predicted Indiana/ND 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 Big Ten only shows 8 wins and ACC 6 wins below where it really has 9 and 7, respectively). Right now, of the 9 conferences represented in the Sweet 16, 5 conferences have a chance to get or share the most number of wins:          

Conference	Teams Left	Current Wins	Max Possible Wins
Big 12 Conf	3	9	17
Big Ten Conf	2	8^	15
Atlantic Coast Conf (ACC)	3	7^	1416
Big East Conf	2	5	11
Pac-12 Conf	2	4	11
x-Southeastern Conf (SEC)	1	4	8
x-American Athletic Conf (AAC)	1	3	7
x-West Coast Conf (WCC)	1	3	7
x-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conf (MAAC)	1	2	6
x-Eliminated from Most Winningest Conf ^-Notre Dame and Indiana wins in First Four do not count

Two Big 12 teams could face each other in the Elite 8 (Kansas, Iowa St), two ACC teams could face each other in the Final Four (Duke, UNC), and two Big East teams could face each other in the Final Four (Villanova, Providence).  The SEC, with two #2s plus #3 Tennessee, led with 95 of 169 entries thinking they would be the winningest conference followed by the the Big Ten with 40, Big 12 with 35, Pac 12 15, ACC 7, Big East 3, and WCC 1.  23 entries each picked the SEC with 12 wins (nope!). 

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

Conf.   Teams Left (1st Rnd W-L, 2nd Rnd W-L)
-----   -------------------------------------
Big12   KANSAS, TEXAS TECH, IOWA STATE (6-0, 3-3)
Big10   MICHIGAN, PURDUE (6-2, 2-4)
ACC     DUKE, N CAROLINA, MIAMI FLA (4-1, 3-1)
BigEast VILLANOVA, PROVIDENCE (3-3, 2-1)
Pac12   ARIZONA, UCLA (2-1, 2-0)

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 7 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) and Discord.  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.  Here you can join the group and meet your competitors, make new friends, set up NCAA watching gatherings, and post stuff to the wall (pictures, witty comments, etc.). 

   Tids & Bits – Sportsline claims to beat 92% of brackets but they only got 19 right in the first round and 8 in the second (e.g., East, Midwest) (62 pts in our pool, good for a tie for 136th)… Gonzaga has made 7 straight Sweet 16s, Michigan 5… leader Mia Culpa has a perfect West & South Region but 0-4 in the East…

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Can West Coast represent?  Go Zags, Zona, Bruins..
Scott

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