I've decided that, what the hell, we should have our NCAA basketball brackets right here on DK4. I'm posting three different competitions, A, B, and C; we'll see whether any or all are fun enough to do in the future.
Game A is the traditional "pick each game" competition, using a 1, 2, 4, 8, 18, 36 payoff scheme for the games in each successive round (total of 200 possible points.)
This diary is for Game B, an "allocate your chips" tournament. You have 100 chips to allocate across teams and you try to get the highest total score. (See a more detailed description there.)
Game C will be especially interesting (if it works.) It will involve bidding to "own" the team that will win the tournament, with those who lose committed to donating the amount that they bet on their teams -- money to be paid to a candidate, cause, or charity of your choosing. You're on your honor here, but we expect you to deliver. If you bid $10,000 to own the "rights" to Ohio State, you should be prepared to pay up if you lose or to face the ignominious consequences.
Here's how Game B works:
You have 100 chips. You place your bet on various teams to make the final 8 games. This allows you to hedge.
For each chip you assign to a team that loses in the Round of 8 (regional championship games), you get 1 point.
For each chip you assign to a team that loses in the Round of 4 (semi-finals), you get 3 points.
For each chip you assign to the team that loses in the finals, you get 5 points.
For each chip you assign to the team that wins the championship, you get 10 points.
That means that the maximum score is 1000. That is what you'd get if you put all of your chips on the eventual winner. But, if you do that, you are not diversifying your investments! The whole point of this game is that it gives you the chance to hedge your bets.
Your choices are among, if you need reminding:
Ohio State, Alabama St/UT San-Antonio, North Carolina, Long Island, Syracuse, Indiana State, Kentucky, Princeton, West Virginia, Clemson, Xavier, Marquette, Washington, Georgia, George Mason, Villanova ...
Duke, Hampton, San Diego St., No. Colorado, Connecticut, Bucknell, Texas, Oakland, Arizona, Memphis, Cincinnati, Missouri, Temple, Penn State, Michigan, Tennessee ...
Pitt, UNC-Ashevlle, Florida, UC-Santa Barbara, BYU, Wofford, Wisconsin, Belmont, Kansas State, Utah State, St. Johns, Gonzaga, UCLA, Michigan State, Butler, Old Dominion ...
Kansas, Boston U, Notre Dame, Akron, Purdue, St. Peter’s, Louisville, Morehead State, Vanderbilt, Richmond, Georgetown, USC/VCU, Texas A&M, Florida State, UNLV, Illinois
So, for example, you might decide to put 25 chips on Ohio State, 20 each on Duke and Pitt, 15 on Kansas, and 5 each on North Carolina, San Diego State, Florida, and Notre Dame. You're guaranteeing that you won't get 1000 points -- but you're hedging your bets a bit and are likely to do better than most. Yes, you can put it all on one team, but then you may end up with 0 points and for the next year everyone will call you "Airball." We will (I hope), compute standings at the end and make fun of the losers.
Put your picks in a comment before 11:55 a.m. Eastern Time on Thurs., March 17.
Keep track of your own score. Play fair. Good luck!