EL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- 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. So that output, which in my case, says Winningest Conference(s): ACC | Wins: 14, means that by the way I picked my bracket, the ACC will get the most wins at 14. This is the third year we have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early.

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

1. The top 4 finishers not eligible (so no double-dipping)
2. Ties broken by championship final score total
3. If there is *still* a tie, money is split
4. If 2 (or more) conferences tie for the most wins, both (or all) conferences must have been picked correctly
5. 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. 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 won the most games with 14 (and the first year we did this in 2003, the Big12 was the winner with 14 as well - so 14 is the lucky number). If no one correctly picks the winningest conference and wins, then the $40 goes back into the prize pot. So, here is the official prize breakdown (in parentheses, if no one wins the Bonus Prize):

                      w/Bonus  w/o Bonus
                      -------  ---------
	1st Place   = $385.00  [$400.00]
	2nd Place   = $185.00  [$195.00]
	3rd Place   = $125.00  [$135.00]
	4th Place   = $ 85.00  [$ 90.00]
	Bonus Prize = $ 40.00 

If you don't have your bracket, then go to the "For the Record" page and pick your nickname from the drop down box. Right now, the current conferences with a chance to get the most number of wins are:

      Teams Curr Max Poss
Conf.  Left Wins   Wins
------ ---- ---- -------
ACC       3   8    15
Big 10    3   6    15
Big East  2   6    13
Big 12    2   6    12
Pac 10    2   4    10
SEC       1   4     8
ConfUSA   1   4     8
x-MtWest  1   2     6
x-Horizon 1   2     6
   x-Eliminated

Below are the teams in the conferences that matter for the Bonus Prize. No one had Conference USA as their choice and no one had the SEC with less than 13 wins (it can't get more than 8) or the Pac 10 with less than 14 wins (no more than 10).

Conf.    Teams Left (1st Rnd W-L, 2nd Rnd W-L)
-----    ----------
ACC      DUKE, UNC, NC STATE (5-0, 3-2)
Big 10   ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN ST (3-2, 3-0)
Big East VILLANOVA, WEST VIRGINIA (4-2, 2-2)
Big 12   OKLAHOMA ST, TEXAS TECH (4-2, 2-2)

It's much too much to go through 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 4 prizes; if your conference is in red, you're eliminated from the Bonus Prize.

Bonus Prize - Winningest Conference Picks