We are now 1 week away from the first 2022 NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament tipping off and it is time to submit your pool picks! Included below is a detailed rundown of the rules, key dates and payment information. Additionally, an excel sheet is attached that is to be filled out with your picks and returned no later than 11:00p CST on Sunday, 2/27/22. No entries will be allowed after 11:00p CST on Sunday, 2/27/22, no exceptions.
Similar to last year we may see tournament dates and formats adjust, as well as potentially have teams opt-out or forfeit due to COVID-19 protocols. I will consult with a committee made up of Tim Husted, Dr. Steve Wattles and Tina Donegan to ensure a fair decision is made on any COVID-19 related impacts to our pool. As the owner of the pool I own the final decisions and will ensure a fair ruling for any COVID-19 related impacts.
Let's get started...
Making the NCAA Basketball Conference Tournaments a little more interesting for year number 12 in a row, below are the details of the pool where the goal is to pick the winner of each conference tournament. The game is very simple, all you do is pick who you think is going to win each of the 32 (or less depending what COVID-19 brings us) NCAA conference tournaments. Feel free to forward this along to friends and family!
The entry fee will remain the same at $50 with the following payout structure:
- 1st place receives a 60% payout
- 2nd place receives a 25% payout
- 3rd place receives a 10% payout
- 4th place receives a free entry for the 2023 pool
This pool has a very easy scoring system. The person with the combination of most correct picks, including bonus points, wins the pool. We have a change this year in how tiebreakers are going to work as the past few years we've been bunched up at the top. The tiebreaker order is as follows:
- Overall total w/bonus points
- Total wins
- Accuracy
- Least amount of losses
- Closest SEC championship game total
Bonus points breakdown:
The bonus point scoring is super simple. For every 3 seed of lower conference tournament winner that you pick, you will be awarded 1 bonus point. In 2021, 13 out of 31 conference tournament winners were a 3 seed or lower. It happens often.
Win money without winning the pool. Huh?
The pool is meant to be fun and keep people in it as long as possible, all the way to the last game played on Selection Sunday. No matter where you're at in the standings you can still win money 4 different ways even if you're outside the top 3 in the standings. It's likely we'll have some ties, so the money gets split among all winners in the event of a tie. Technically, you can be towards the bottom of the standings and on Selection Sunday and still win every one of these categories.
1. Most bonus points - The person with the most total bonus points (picking 3 seed or lower winners) will win $150. In 2021 we had a 3 way tie, but the 6th and 7th place people ended up with some cash because of this.
2. Most power conference points - The person with the most power conference points (wins + bonus points) will win $150. in 2021 we had a single winner with only 3 points. The power conferences will be identified on the entry sheet for anyone unfamiliar with which 5 conferences are considered power conferences.
3. Lowest winning seed - The person who has the lowest winning seed conference tournament champion wins $100. In 2021, 13 people picked (9) Iona causing a crazy large tie. However, even the person in last place won a few dollars because of this.
4. Closest SEC championship game score - The person with the closest SEC championship game score wins $50. This is typically the last conference championship game, taking place on Selection Sunday, so even if you're in last place with no other opportunities at wins you have the opportunity to recoup your $50.
As conference tournaments begin and end at different dates from 2/28/22 - 3/13/22 I will post a daily blog and standings updates via the link below. Make sure you save this link, subscribe and put it in your favorites so you're always up to date. The link to the standings will be in every blog. Each year I try to send less e-mails and use the blog more.
Here are the steps to enter the pool:
- Fill out the attached spreadsheet with the team you think will win each of the 32 conference tournaments using the dropdown provided for each conference
- Do not forget to pick the total of the SEC championship game as that may be an important tiebreaker along with a payout if you are the closest, regardless of where you're at in the standings
- Ensure your name (or nickname) is included along with your e-mail address
- E-mail me a copy no later than 11:00p CST on Sunday, 2/27/22
- If filling out a spreadsheet is not for you feel free to call, e-mail, message, WhatsApp, text or smoke signal me your picks
It really shouldn't take longer than 5-10 minutes to fill everything out as I included a drop down list for each conference to allow easy and accurate selections for that conference.
The seed numbers currently shown in the excel spreadsheet probably will change over the next few weeks as the regular season comes to an end at different dates for each conference. I will keep the seeds up to date on the master score sheet I send to the group.
I will send out a master spreadsheet with everyone's picks, known bonus points, and conference info prior to the first tournament championship game (Including my picks).
Below is a rundown of the current COVID related rules:
- After Sunday, 2/27/22 if a team you picked is eliminated due to a COVID forfeit, that will count as a loss, even if that conference did not tip off its conference tournament. If a team you picked is eliminated due to a COVID forfeit on or before Sunday, 2/27/22 you can contact me and make a change.
- If a conference decides to cancel its conference tournament it will not be a loss, we will simply remove that conference from our pool. This is important as not having a loss has an impact to win % which is important for standings tiebreakers.
- As conferences change its tournament format and/or seeding you are not entitled to changing your pick after Sunday, 2/27/22. All picks are final.
- The seed number once a champion is crowned is what will be used in our pool for bonus points and payouts. Many conferences have implemented or are discussing reseeding after the first rounds as they did in 2021.
Many will skip this section, but for anyone that is newer to the pool I would recommend you keep reading as it will give you some insight, tips and tricks for this pool.
- Conference Tournament Seeding
- The college basketball regular season is not yet over and teams are still jockeying for conference tournament seeding
- Seed numbers may and likely will change between when you submit your picks and when a conference tournament tips off, impacting your possible bonus points and max points
- Not Every Team Makes It
- In some conferences, not every team will make the conference tournament and I will mark that team as DNQ
- While power conferences such as the SEC, B1G and ACC allow every team to participate, mid/low major conferences may cap participation to the top 4 or top 8 teams
- I do my very best to reflect this in the drop down by putting a "DNQ" next to the team, but that could change between when your submit your picks and the conference tournament tipping off
- Do your research if you're reaching for lower seeded teams
- Ineligible Teams
- This one is fun as conferences are sometimes unclear and rulings constantly change right up to conference tournament time
- The NCAA, conferences and even the team itself can declare a team ineligible for a number of reasons (i.e. grades, cheating, conference realignment/changes, D1 reclassification waiting periods, etc.)
- Sometimes that means the ineligible team can participate in its conference tournament, but cannot advance to the NCAA tournament, while sometimes it means the ineligible team cannot even participate in its own conference tournament
- Teams that are currently documented as ineligible for the post season have a "ineligible" designation in the drop down
- I can't get all of these 100% accurate as decisions change, please do your research if selecting an ineligible team
- A few years ago we had Texas Southern marked as ineligible and 24 hours before the conference tournament they were deemed eligible and won its conference tournament
- For this year, UIC has already been declared ineligible and back to eligible within the past week, showing how quickly decisions can change
- Currently, 7 teams are marked as ineligible, but could change over the next few weeks
Payment information on where to send your $50.
- PayPal: rwdpeanut@gmail.com
- Zelle: Rick Donegan 630-885-2873
- Venmo: @Rick-Donegan
- Cashapp: $RickDonegan
- Address: 1140 Venetian Court; Naperville, IL 60540
- In Person/In Vegas
Thanks!
Rick Donegan
