Well, kudos to Villanova on a great run. That Final Four game was ridiculous, but to win the national championship on a buzzer beating 3-pointer was something else. My Heels came oh so close, but hats off to Nova.
Note; Only 6 entries out of 46 had Villanova!
That said, congrats to our winners in the Team Selection pool:
1st: Mark Tupper
2nd: Craig Clarke
3rd: Theresa Morrison
Congrats to the winners of the Pick Em All pool (although, entirely under protest due to the scoring system - someone had 3 of the final four right, the finals and the champion right, yet finished 14th - and overall, their picks were fairly similar;not sour grapes - but we will return to the standard scoring system we've used in the previous dozens of years and we will run screaming from that awful site). That said - congrats to the winners:
1st: Craig Clarke
2nd: Willie Allan
3rd: Richard Niman
All payments have been sent out as at 930p PT on 04-Apr-2016. Enjoy!
No need to provide feedback on the new "Pick Em All" site - as we will not be returning to it next year. If you have a favourite, please let me know and I'll look into their functionality, scoring options, etc. as well as their mobile site.
Interesting Stats from the Pool
Well well well...the Madness is now over and it ended in much the same way it started - crazy!
Michigan St was the most selected team of all 64 available options.
Michigan St lost to #15 Middle Tennessee St (only selected by 5 entries).
Every team in the pool was taken by at least one entry - #3 Utah was only selected once)
Behind Michigan St were Kansas (38) and UNC (35) in most times selected.
Kentucky (29) was, not surprisingly, the most popular #4-7 seed, followed by #5 Maryland (21).
Wichita St (/Vanderbilt winner) was the most popular #8-11 seed (28) followed by #11 Gonzaga and #10 VCU (22 each).
The #12-14 group was fairly evenly spread, with Stephen F Austin being selected the most (20).
Weber St (#15 - E) was the most popular 'far fetched' pick, being selected on 17 of 46 entries.
4 Teams were selected once in the entire pool:
#3 Utah, #7 Dayton (lost Rd 64), #7 Oregon St (lost Rd 64), and #16 Austin Peay (got demolished by Kansas).
4 teams were selected only two times in the entire pool:
#3 Miami, #10 Syracuse, #14 Buffalo (lost Rd 64), #16 Hampton (lost Rd 64)
In the bracket pool, some interesting notes:
38 of 50 pools had Michigan St in the finals (oops!)
14 of those 38 has Michigan St winning the tournament - OUCH!
Someone had FGCU going to the Sweet 16 again - as a #16 seed! Okie doke...
NOTE: As some parents like to have their kids play along, the following option is available if you are registering picks on behalf of your child (18 and under), please let me know and I'll make note and update the official entry name as something similar to
Important Dates - 2016
March 13: Selection Sunday
March 15 & 16: First Round Games (not required for the pool)
March 17: Deadline for entries
March 18: Deadline for Payments
April 2: Final Four
April 4: Championship Game and Winners Declared
My Tournament Predictions
1. ACC vs Big 12 in the final (WRONG - close until Nova destroyed Oklahoma)
2. Kentucky will be a 1-and-done team (like most of their players) (RIGHT - yaaaaaaay!)
3. SEC will have less teams than a mid-major (RIGHT: AAC had 4, SEC 3)
4. Duke and UNC will meet in regional play (WRONG: But was in the last Palm projections)
5. One "play-in" winner will advance to the Round of 32 with an upset in the round of 64 (Right - Wichita St)
6. No team will drop a hund-o in the round of 64 (WRONG: Kansas is a bully)
7. Some poor team(s) will be held below 39 in the round of 64 (WRONG)
8. All First Four games will be snoozers (WRONG...only the HC/Southern game was close)
9. The SEC will not win more than 1 game in the tournament. (WRONG - they won 3)
10.A #14-15-16 will win a game this year (RIGHT! #14 AND #15 won!!!)
11. Someone from the West coast will win the Team Selection pool. (Japan is west right?)
12. The Final Four will involve at least one OT game. (WRONG - very!)
13. I will win both pools. (WRONG - stupid brackets!)
HOW TO PAY FOR THE POOL
Email Transfers
My email address for email payments: jason@DISREGARDTHISPARTseabright.ca
There are no longer transaction fees for this - you're welcome. lol
And yes, you actually disregard that part for the email address - I just don't want to be flooded with spam from web crawlers.
*See below for "How Much Do I Owe" to determine your debt if paying before the tournament starts - or check the Payment Status page here for your debt.
There are no longer transaction fees for this - you're welcome. lol
And yes, you actually disregard that part for the email address - I just don't want to be flooded with spam from web crawlers.
*See below for "How Much Do I Owe" to determine your debt if paying before the tournament starts - or check the Payment Status page here for your debt.
All Cash Payments
Jason House - text/call me to arrange payment (7**) 689-HABS
(I'm back in BC as it was just way to damn snowy in NS)
Note: Checks are no longer acceptable. Please do NOT mail a check. Please do not ask if you can mail a check. You have plenty of advance notice to make alternative arrangements for payment. I do NOT want to go to the bank and deposit checks that get held, etc. You'll also notice there's no address - I've moved so it's not the same either. Please either get off your wallet and pay the $1.50 transfer fee or somehow find a way to send me the funds electronically (or show up at my house with cash). Sorry to be a hard a$$ on this, but it's the age of technology - we need to learn to embrace it. If you send me a cheque, you will be added to the banned list (after I cash your cheque). I am not kidding.
Jason House - text/call me to arrange payment (7**) 689-HABS
(I'm back in BC as it was just way to damn snowy in NS)
Note: Checks are no longer acceptable. Please do NOT mail a check. Please do not ask if you can mail a check. You have plenty of advance notice to make alternative arrangements for payment. I do NOT want to go to the bank and deposit checks that get held, etc. You'll also notice there's no address - I've moved so it's not the same either. Please either get off your wallet and pay the $1.50 transfer fee or somehow find a way to send me the funds electronically (or show up at my house with cash). Sorry to be a hard a$$ on this, but it's the age of technology - we need to learn to embrace it. If you send me a cheque, you will be added to the banned list (after I cash your cheque). I am not kidding.
HOW MUCH DO I OWE?
Is that a question you're wondering? If so...follow this rule:
Add up your Team Selection Entries: 1st one = $15 and each subsequent = $10
Add up your Pick Em All brackets: 1st one = $10 and each subsequent = $5
So...if you had 3 Team Selections and 4 Pick Em Alls:
Team Selection: $15 + 10 + 10 = $35
Pick Em All: $10 + $5 + $5 + $5 = $25
Total: $35 + $25 = $60
Got it?
Special Note: Making a subsequent in your child's name (so they can feel a part of the Madness) is all good and fine. They can be made simply as additional picks and will be charged as such. For example:
John Smith and his son Tommy
John does 1 Team Selection ($15) and 1 Pick Em All ($10).
John also submits a subsequent pick for each pool for his 8-year old son Tommy.
Net result: John owes: Team Selection ($15 + $10) and Pick Em All ($10 + $5) = $40.
Any questions, let me know.
HOW MUCH DO I WIN?
Payouts are determined after all entries are paid, service fees paid out and then awarding winnings based on a 70%, 20%, 10% split. In the case of ties for 2nd and/or 3rd, see the Rules for Tie Breakers.
(Payouts for 2016)
NOTE: All payouts are in Canadian dollars!
FIRST FOUR - WE DON'T COUNT
When you start selecting your team and making those tough decisions, one thing you won't need to spend any time on is the first four games - we don't not count them (yet). So, when selecting your team, if you choose to select the winner of one of those games, you theoretically get two teams (but only the advancing team matters). Good luck!
Note: No points whatsoever are earned in the first four games - no scoring bonus points, no upsets points, no points for the win.
Note: No points whatsoever are earned in the first four games - no scoring bonus points, no upsets points, no points for the win.
2016 POOL DETAILS
Team Selection: The granddaddy of our pools, you MUST enter this pool in order to participate in any of the pools. This is a unique pool, unlike any other. You pick teams based on the seedings (4 teams that are seeded 1, 2, or 3, 4 teams that are 4, 5, 6, or 7, etc.) and in the end, you end up with 16 teams varying in seeds from 1-16 (yes, you may end up with all 4 #1 seeds - your choice). Points are earned by wins, upsets (lower seed beating a higher seed), and scoring (both offensively and defensively). The Rules section plays out a few scenarios to help explain the scoring and the points. It really isn't hard to understand when you see the example. See the bottom of this post for directions on how to pay.
Pick Em All: This is your standard, run of the mill "bracket" pool that everyone's used to. This year, it's slightly different as we've introduced some new to us bonus points. Read the site details for the full list and information, but here's the summary:
1. Each round is weighted
1. Each round is weighted
- Round of 64: 1
- Round of 32: 2
- Sweet Sixteen: 3
- Elite 8: 4
- Final Four: 5
- Championship: 6
You may NOT just go in the Pick Em All pool.
You may register your spot early for this pool, but the brackets will not be available until after the tournament draw is announced
For those new to the pools, please check out the Rules section that helps explain both the Team Selection and the Pick Em All pools.
RULES FOR PAYMENTS
Payments MUST be sent in by the end of the Round of 64 - MARCH 18th, 2016. If they are not, all of your entries will be removed from all pools and you will be banned permanently from all future pools. I cannot stress this enough - I do not like hounding people months after the pool to get their payments in (this results in people hounding me for their money and I feel like the bad guy although I've done nothing wrong). SO....you've been warned.
Payments MUST be sent in by the end of the Round of 64 - MARCH 18th, 2016. If they are not, all of your entries will be removed from all pools and you will be banned permanently from all future pools. I cannot stress this enough - I do not like hounding people months after the pool to get their payments in (this results in people hounding me for their money and I feel like the bad guy although I've done nothing wrong). SO....you've been warned.
BANNED + SHAMED LIST
- Jeremy Krief (2011): $15
- Carlos Cabrera (2009): $15
- Sam Wilson (2008): $90
- David, Donna, Jason and Daniel Rubenstein (2008): $100
- Steve Pettipas (2007, 2009 NFL): $150
* there are others, but I am struggling to locate the file I saved them to; those on the banned list may get back in by paying for their outstanding debt and as well paying 100% upfront prior to the pool starting (current year + previous debt)