Bonus Prize details; 17 eliminated entries are eligible to win Bonus
As it has been the past ten 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. This is the 11th year we have used this Bonus to give hope to those who get eliminated early as only those who do not finish in the top 6 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 Fabone XX), says “Winningest Conference(s): ACC | Wins: 11“, means that by the way I picked my bracket (and don’t laugh… or do), the ACC conference 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 6 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 10 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 Big Ten was the winningest conference with 14 wins. But if no one correctly picks the winningest conference and wins, then the Bonus2 takes effect.
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 6 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 138 entries ($1,380). So, here is the official prize breakdown:
1st Place = $555.00
2nd Place = $290.00
3rd Place = $195.00
4th Place = $140.00
5th Place = $ 95.00
6th Place = $ 65.00
Bonus Prize =$ 40.00
Bonus1 Prize Analysis
What this means is that of the 34 entries that were eliminated from the top 6 prizes, 17 entries are back into play! So 101 of 138 entries still have a chance for Bonus1 (which is not as bad as 2010 where 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 SEC’s Tennessee won the First Four game you’d have to add your predicted Tennessee 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 SEC only shows 6 wins below where it really has 7 due to Tenn’s First Four win and the ACC only shows 5 wins but really has 6 due to NC State’s First Four win). Right now, of the 8 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
------- ----- ---- --------
Pac12 3 7 15
Big10 3 6 15
SEC 3 6^ 14
Big12 2 6 13
AAC 2 5 12
ACC 1 5^ 9
x-Atl10 1 3 7
x-MWC 1 2 6
x-Eliminated ^-Tenn/NC St. win in First Four does not count
The Big 10 led with 69 entries thinking they would be the winningest conference followed by the ACC with 49, the Big 12 with 33, the Pac 12 with 20, and the Big 12 and SEC each with 1. 19 entries each picked the Big 10 with 11 wins.
Below are the teams in the conferences that matter for the Bonus1.
Conf. Teams Left (2nd Rnd W-L, 3rd Rnd W-L) ----- ---------- Big10 MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN ST, WISCONSIN (3-2, 3-0) Pac12 UCLA, STANFORD, ARIZONA (4-2, 3-1) SEC FLORIDA, TENNESSEE, KENTUCKY (3-0, 3-0) AAC LOUISVILLE, UCONN (3-1, 2-1) Big12 BAYLOR, IOWA ST (4-3, 2-2) ACC VIRGINIA (4-2, 1-3)
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.
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Tids & Bits – The 4th Annual HWCI NCAA First Four for Charity benefiting The Friends of Renee was won by Guilio B who was the only person to go 4-0 and a write-up will be in a future update… including the First Four, there have been 6 OT games thus far… 13 still have 7 of their Elite 8 left and 55 still have their Final Four alive… MilasFila2 (78th-Tied, 74 pts) lost all Final Four teams (2 on each day) and is the only one so far that will go 0-for-the-Final-Four (the 335th entry to do so)… Go Deep (134th-T, 59) was 1 of 13 to lose 4 Elite 8 teams in the last round and is the only one with only 2 Elite 8 teams left… Tk421 is tied for 113th (68) but can still win the pool while Luke I am Your Father is 3rd (85) but can’t win 1st!… The Comebacker is tied for 24th (78) but can’t finish in the top 6 while MB Camel Jockies is 128th (62) but can still win 4th!…
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Too many teams switching conferences! …
Scott
HWCI circa 1990