Deadlines

All brackets must be submitted and paid for prior to tipoff of the first First Round game at 11:15am CDT, Thursday, March 21, 2019.

Scoring

Brackets score points for each game in which the winner is picked correctly. The winner of the pool is the bracket with the most points.

Correct picks in each round will earn points as follows:

First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship Game
1pt 2pts 4pts 8pts 16pts 32pts

Brackets may earn upset points in addition to the round points for correctly picking a lower seeded team to defeat a higher seeded team. Upset points will be calculated by subtracting the losing, higher-seeded team's seed number from the winning, lower-seeded team's seed number. For example, if you correctly pick a #12 (lower) seed to defeat a #5 (higher) seed, your bracket would receive 7 underdog points (12-5=7).

However, to get upset points you must correctly pick a team to win in an upset, and that lower-seeded team must win the game. In other words, after First Round games, your pick must have a lower-seeded team defeating a higher-seeded team in that matchup, and the lower-seeded team must win, in order to get upset points. For example:

First Round matchups: #4 seed vs. #13 seed, and #5 seed vs. #12 seed
  • Your picks: Two upsets - you pick the #13 seed to beat the #4 seed, and the #12 seed to beat the #5 seed.
  • Actual game outcome: The #4 seed and #12 seed win.
  • Points scored: You receive no points for incorrectly picking the #4 seed game, and 8 total points for #12 seed game (1 point for a correct First Round pick, plus 7 upset points).
 Second Round matchup: #4 seed vs. #12 seed
  • Your Pick: No upset - you picked the #12 seed to defeat the #13 seed.
  • Result - #12 seed defeats #4 seed.
  • Points scored: You receive 2 points for correct Second Round pick, no upset points. You picked the #12 seed to beat a #13 seed, which is not an upset pick. Therefore no upset points are awarded even though the #12 seed defeated a higher-seeded team.
 Sweet Sixteen matchup: #1 seed vs. #12 seed
  • Your Pick: Upset - you picked the #12 seed to defeat the #9 seed.
  • Result - #12 seed defeats #1 seed.
  • Points scored: You receive 15 total points - 4 points for correct Sweet Sixteen round pick, plus 11 upset points. Upset points are awarded because the #12 seed defeated a higher-seeded team, and you picked the #12 seed to defeat a higher-seeded team (you picked the #12 seed to defeat the #9 seed).

If you have any questions about scoring, please email before completing your bracket.

Play-in Games

The four play-in games are not included in the pool. You do not need to make picks for the play-in games.

Tie Breakers

If, after the Championship Game, any brackets are tied the winner will be determined in the following order:

  1. The bracket that picked the correct Champion
  2. The bracket with the highest correct pick percentage for the entire tournament
  3. The bracket with the most correct teams in the Elite Eight

If, after the above, there is still a tie, the tied brackets will remained tied, and will split any prizes won for the tied position(s).

Payout

  • 1st Place: 60% of final total
  • 2nd Place: 25% of final total
  • 3rd Place: 15% of final total

The final total will be based on the total amount of bracket money collected, minus hosting fees and PayPal transaction fees.

Payment

Payment for brackets must be received before the Deadline. Brackets must be purchased at the same time to receive the multi-bracket discount. For example, if you purchase one bracket on Monday, and purchase another bracket on Wednesday, each bracket will be $12.

Refunds

There will be no refunds for incomplete brackets, or brackets not submitted before the deadline. You've been warned.

Bracket Limits

There is a limit of five brackets per person. If you create more than five brackets they will be deleted.

Deep End of the Pool is for entertainment purposes only. Let's be safe out there, kids.