Contests

NCAA Bracket Contests: Top 16 to Enter

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:15:44 -0700

A little low on cash because of the struggling economy? Need a little economic stimulus? The NCAA Tournament is a good way to earn some back.. you could win up to $100,000,00 getting a perfect bracket (then again, the odds are a bazillion to one so you're better off playing PowerBall), thousands of dollars beating the masses in other games, or setting up your own pool and taking a cut of the action. Now matter how you do it, you need to play to win.

Here are 16 NCAA Tournament bracket games, pools, and contests to keep you busy during March Madness:

CHN's Bracket Contest - Our own standard contest, with some cool features and some cool prizes like an iPod Nano.

Yahoo: NCAA Tournament Pickem - Can't go wrong with any of Yahoo's fantasy offerings. $10,000 for the best bracket.

ESPN's Tournament Challenge - Prove yourself amongst the thousands, win $10,000 for 1st and $5,000 for 2nd place.

Bodog's Bracket Buster - Prizes totaling $25,000.. but this is money to spend at Bodog, not straight cash. Even 250th place can bet you $50.

Fanhouse.com - Besides a perfect bracket, they claim to be giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars of actual prizes.. this seems impossibly large unless I'm misreading something.

CollegeFanz.com - Win $25 million here.. the catch is you need to pick a perfect men's bracket, women's bracket, and give them your 2nd child. All kidding aside, there's a decent amount of prizes to win here, so check it out, but its not the biggest bracket event ever despite their claims.

CBS BracketChallenge - Similar to ESPN. Bonus that you can watch MMOD while following your bracket. The grand prize here is an Infiniti. The odd thing is you don't have to have the best score to win, it simply goes to a random person who finishes in the top 10% of the contest.

CBS RoundByRound Brackets - A good alternative for those who don't want to be eliminated by the first weekend. Prizes each round between $500 and $1500. Again, this is random drawing if you're in the top 10% of performers.

CBS BracketManager - Run your pool amongst friends. Beware all the AT&T ads.

FoxSports Bracket Challenge - Win a $1 million with a perfect bracket & various Hooters related prizes. Two people win a trip to Vegas which isn't bad, while others can win Hooters wings for a month.. I'd rather win a Hooters girl..

CBS Selection Sunday Challenge - A new offering from CBS, where you predict what teams make the Tourney. Since you missed this game.. remember it for next year.

Facebook - There's a handful of highly popular NCAA Bracket games on Facebook sponsored by various companies. The biggest is apps.facebook.com/bracket.

BracketBrains - An interesting product I've never tried that theoretically helps you do better in pools.

BracketContest.com - No clue about this site, but it ranks high on Google, and it looks like they legitimately give out cash.

NBCSports: It's Madness - Win a $2,000 from NBC. Come on NBC, you're NBC, give out some more dough. 2nd place gets a big TV.

ChampsSports.com - This is a round by game, with prizes like laptops, gift cards, etc.

Pickem Game: Congrats Prize Winners

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:37:16 -0800

Congrats to the following CHN members for winning prizes in the season-long Pickem games. We had no repeat winners from last year, so no one can claim dominance yet. (BFPAWG was the only player to claim two prizes this year, 2nd in the Mid-Major game and 1st in combined points.)

All winners will be contacted individually this morning about claiming their prize.

Thanks again for playing. I know things weren't quite as smooth this season, but hopefully I'll be able to put in full time on the games next season.

Good luck in all your NCAA Tournament contests!

(All $ prizes below are Best Buy gift cards or PayPal payment depending on winner's choice.)

National

117 pts wagg - $125
117 pts golddomefan - $50 + Basketball Book
115 pts evan1237 -- $25 + Book or DVD

Mid-Major

137 pts inflow -- $125
131 pts BFPWAG -- $50 + Basketball Book
129 pts heatplayer 06 -- $25 + Book or DVD

Overall combined scores:

245 pts BFPAWG -- $45 + Basketball Book
239 pts Wayne5914 -- $25 + Book or DVD

Thanks for playing!!

Pickem Game: Prize Notice and an Apology

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:21:45 -0800

Hey Pickem players,
Sorry for disappearing for pretty much the last 2 or 3 months.. I'm still alive and kicking. Could make various excuses for where I've been, but no matter.. I have season-long pickem prizes set to go out once the final week wraps up.

Prizes = Best Buy Gift Cards + a Bonus in some situations

(Note: You have the option of accepting payment by PayPal as well. Its up to you. Ie, instead of $100 gift card, you'll get $100 sent to a PayPal account of your choosing. The only kicker is if you accept over PayPal, you won't get the bonus book/dvd mailed to you (if your prize includes a book or dvd.)

National
1st - $125
2nd - $50 + Basketball Book
3rd - $25 + Book or DVD

Mid-Major
1st - $125
2nd - $50 + Basketball Book
3rd -$25 + Book or DVD

Combined*
1st - $45 + Basketball Book
2nd - $25 + Book or DVD
*This is combined points between the two games. (If you win one of the main prizes too, this is added on.)

Wagg & Golddomefan are tied atop the National standings, while inflow has a 4 point lead in the mid-majors. In the combined category, it looks like BFPAWG is leading. Good luck,

Shawn Siegel
shawn@collegehoops.net

Why Bracketmania Is Not for Me: A Contrarian's Point of View

Bill Kintner — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 03:27:09 -0700

It is that time of the year when my e-mail inbox and Facebook inbox are loaded with offers to get in NCAA Bracket Challenges and office pools. Some are for fun and some are for money, but all of them offer heartbreak and frustration.

Last year for the first time in years I did not fill out a NCAA Tournament Bracket ahead of the actual tournament.

If felt liberating, it gave me peace-of-mind as I watched games. I actually rooted only for teams I really wanted to win as I stuffed my face with cheese fries, potato skins, steak sandwiches and cheeseburgers, as opposed to rooting for the teams I needed to win. It actually allowed me to kick back and really enjoy my cigars as I watched four games at a time at Ticket's Sports Bar in Northern Kentucky.

All around me were people with their brackets laid out in front of them screaming at the TV screens. A lot of people had multiple brackets; all marked up in front of them.

I have to admit the idea to skip doing brackets was not mine, although I wish it was my idea. Last year Kyle Whelliston wrote a column about why you shouldn't enter your office pool that was published on Midmajority.com.

Whelliston describes how he would fill in the all the pairings as a kid when they were announced and then over the weeks fill in the winners. If a team he liked (always a mid-major) won he would fill them in with bold letters, with all caps and maybe even underline it. If a BCS team advanced he would write them down maybe using a pencil in real small letters, hoping they might disappear.

"Each naked tree branch on my bracket was a place where new spring leaves soon sprout and unfurl," wrote Whelliston. "When the champion was crowned, I could look back on my bracket and recall all the emotions I felt with each game. I still have most of my brackets from the eighties; each one is a map to my NCAA memories."

When I read that last year it really struck a chord with me. Whelliston's poetic way of describing a better way to enjoy the greatest sporting event in the world had to be better than the frustration of watching my predictions go further down the toilet with each round.

It can be absolutely maddening to watch a 20 year old player miss a buzzer-beater, or commit an untimely turnover or foul, in the closing seconds of a tight game playing for a team I really don't want to win, but since I picked them in my brackets, I was obligated to root for them.

Now for those of you not familiar with Welliston, he is the mid-major king. He eats, sleeps and writes about everything mid-major and he has no time to waste on Duke, Pittsburgh, Texas or any school above the redline, which is his way of separating the big boys and the so-called mid-majors in the world of college basketball. He bases his redline on how much money schools spend on college sports.

Years ago I began to think something was wrong. I would study college basketball, more than most people I know, but when the NCAA National Championship game was concluded I found that I lost in my office pool to people that knew a lot less than I did.

The difference between the office pool brackets and the ones that played out on the court were monumental. Watching the NCAA Tournament especially in the latter rounds was pure torture.

About four years ago I was sitting around a table with Lance McAlister, a popular sports talk-show host in Cincinnati, Richard Skinner, who used to be the Cincinnati Post's UK beat writer and Dan Peters the associate head coach at Ohio State. It was a round table discussion about college hoops at a Northern Kentucky sports bar. We had the cigars going, beer flowing and good food everywhere. It was quite an assortment of basketball knowledge.

About 30 minutes in, I asked if anyone had ever won an office pool. As we went around the table, it was nope, nope, not even close and nada.

It became evident that if that group can't accurately predict a sport they are heavily involved with on a regular basis, then there is no reason to enter the office poor with an expectation of winning.

Trying to predict random events on a basketball court is about the same as going to a casino and playing a slot machine.

I know there is probably a guy in your office that is the office sports nut. He always has two screens active on his computer at any given time. He has his work on one screen and a sports web page going on another, that he can minimize when the boss comes by.

He will come by and solicit you to join the office pool. It will be tempting because all the cool people in the office will be playing.

But this year, tell him no. Tell him, you want to enjoy the tournament this year and root for the teams that you really want to win. Maybe even do what Kyle suggests, fill out your brackets as the tournament progresses, printing the teams that you really like in big bold, colorful letters and the ones you do not like in a small dull number two pencil creatively misspelling them.

Leave the office pool to all the people that don't pay much attention to college basketball until the tournament. After all, they usually win the office pool anyway.

Try it, I did and it made watching the tournament a lot more fun and you may just get them all right this year.

Bracketology & Conference Tournament Pickem Results

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:22:10 -0700

Thanks to everyone who participated in our two end of season pickem games. Winners are listed below. All winners will be contacted by their registered email about claiming their prizes. Due to the NCAA Tournament, it might take a couple days to get those emails out..

Conference Tournament Pickem

Link: Conference Tourney Pickem

Standings:

1st place: 1 with 6 of 12 (Marco Romanell)
2nd place: 5 with 5 of 12 (Michael P, sm5249, Chatakat, Matt M, wagg)
3rd place: 16 with 4 of 12 (Shawn, Max, Abejr, Dave A, Tim, Rocky, Darrell, Englandwood, Dan, Eric Maynor, Jjuva13, Jazzstock12, Askmetzger, Tom, mjones8001, Phil)

First Place Prize - Marco Romanell

NCAA Basketball 09 - XBox360 - EA Sports

When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball - New book by Seth Davis

Second Place Prize - Matt Moran (breaks tie with 20 CHN Points)

NBA 2K9 - Playstation 3 - 2KSports

When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball - New book by Seth Davis

Third Place Prize - sm5249 (breaks tie with 12 CHN Points)

When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball - New book by Seth Davis

Bracketology Pickem

Link: Bracketology Contest

Standings:

1st place: 2 with 69 points (Billy and Mubrewcrew)
2nd place: 2 with 67 points (Illinois119 and Raphielle)
3rd place: 4 with 65 points (Jason H, Robert, Chatakat, and gdpjesb)

First Place Prize - Billy Palmer (Has more CHN Points than Mubrewcrew)

The Marophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac (quality book from the guys at Free Darko)

+ $25 Best Buy Gift Card

Second & Third Place Prize - Mubrewcrew & Raphielle Johnson (who has more points than Illinois119)

The Marophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac (quality book from the guys at Free Darko)

NCAA Tournament: Tuesday's Bracket Tips

Jon Teitel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 08:19:01 -0700

Jon Teitel's Bracket Tactics will help you finish at the top of your NCAA Tournament Pools..

Tuesday's Tip: Focus on the Coaches

FACT ONE: Only 2 coaches with only 0 to 4 years’ tourney experience have won the NCAA title since 1985 (Steve Fisher of Michigan & Tom Izzo of Michigan State).

SIMPLY: Do not pick teams with young coaches to win it all.

MEANING: Butler, Marquette, Missouri, Purdue, and Wake Forest have little shot at a title run.

FACT TWO: Only 4 times ever have all 4 Final Four coaches had Final 4 experience (1951, 1968, 1984, 1993).

ANALYSIS: Feel free to pick a team whose coach has never coached in the Final 4 to make the Final 4.

MEANING: This could be a good year for FSU, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Pitt, Utah, and Xavier.

FACT THREE: But, 18 of last 22 champs have had coach who has previously been to a Final 4.

ANALYSIS: Pick a champ whose coach has previous Final 4 experience.

MEANING: Teams like FSU, Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Pitt, and Xavier may make deep runs, but are doubtful National Champions.

Yesterday's Tips focused on Conference affiliation. Check back tomorrow for more of Jon's Bracket Tips.

Historical Tournament Success by Seed

Other Helpful Bracket Tips

+ NCAA Tournament

• All Tournament Coverage

• NCAA Tournament Capsules

• NIT Capsules

• NCAA Tournament Schedule

• Venue Info & Tickets

• Bracketology

Rant: It Takes An Idiot to Run an NCAA Tournament Pool

Dave Barend — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:39:05 -0700

To make the NCAA Tourney fun you need to find someone dumb enough to want to run a pool. For the past 15 years that dummy has been me.

After each year, I swear I'm never going to be that idiot again. The stress of running a pool is simply not worth it. But then March comes and, much like Al Pacino said, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." (Though I'm not sure if Michael Corleone would find the "stress" of running an NCAA pool "much like" the stress of running - the mafia.)

Why do I succumb each year? Well, I'm not sure.

For the $? - A good reason, except I don't make any money off the pool. A few years ago I wanted to assure everyone that I wasn't taking a percentage of the pot. So I sent an email out to the couple hundred people in my pool saying, "I'm not taking any ‘Fig"'. Huh? See, I thought that "The Fig" was the term for taking a cut of a pool. Turns out it's called "The Vig". Which explains the responses saying things like, "What the hell are you talking about?", and "What do you have against Figs?" My pathetic display of ignorance did have a positive. It reconfirmed for everyone in my pool that I was the prefect idiot for the job.

For Fun? - The fun part is being in the pool. Dealing with people who can't figure out how to fill in the brackets, not fun. Couple years ago, it was 5 minutes before tip off of the first round. I was just about to take the first bite of my pizza when the phone rang.

Sean: Hey man it's Sean. I haven't gotten my picks in yet.
Dave: Don't know what to tell you. Tip off is in less than 5 minutes.
Sean: Great, I was worried we wouldn't have enough time.
Me: We?
Sean: Yeah, I need you to enter the picks on that web site for me.

(At this point, a normal person would have pretended that there was a bad connection and hung up. Sadly, I'm not normal.)

Dave: Sure. Just read off your picks and I'll type ‘em in.
Sean: Dude, I haven't even looked at the brackets yet.

(As I furiously typed in the winners of all 63 games a drop of sweat fell toward my pizza. I managed to deftly catch it with my big toe. Unfortunately, I was unable to prevent my foot from landing in the double cheese. I now had a meal that was literally going to taste like feet.)

Dave: Wow, we finished with 30 seconds to spare.
Sean: Dave, hold a second. Yeah, uh, can I get a large Coke with that? Dave, you there? Thanks man. Gotta go. Don't want my pizza to get cold.

For Making Friends? - Actually I seem to lose friends. This obsession with my NCAA pool has pretty much alienated my entire neighborhood. Though they claim that they aren't interested, that simply makes no sense to me. How can anybody not want to be in an NCCA pool? It's like not wanting sex. In fact, an NCAA pool is like 3 weeks of sex. Who wouldn't want that? Well, apparently about 50 people according to the signatures on the neighborhood's cease and desist petition.

Last year, a new family moved into my neighborhood about 1 week before the Tourney. My wife made me promise that I would not even mention my pool to them. I agreed. I also lied. A crafty move given that they happily joined.

The day before the Tourney started, I noticed that some unknown person had logged into my pool's web site. This infuriating discovery meant three things: (1) someone had entered my pool without paying (2) someone had given out the password for my pool's web site and (3) the pulsating vein in my forehead was going to explode. Yeah, I was a bit perturbed. I then received an email from my brand new neighbor indicating that he had given the password to another guy. He apologized and said he'd gladly take care of the fee.

If you think that's the end, then you are, once again, forgetting that I'm an idiot. I decided to vent by forwarding my neighbor's email to another buddy in the pool and wrote, "Read below. Looks like I found the @#$%&*#!" Except I didn't hit forward. I hit reply. And I didn't write @#$%&*#. I wrote "asshole."

I immediately realized my mistake. Somehow I had to stop that email. So I did the only logical thing - I yanked my computer right out of the wall. The cord flew out of the socket and, accompanied by a chunk of dry wall, smashed into my face. Upon rebooting my computer I learned a disappointing fact - I'm not as fast as email.

I then re-opened the email, made absolutely sure I hit forward, and sent the following note to my wife: "In the next few hours our new neighbors will cease speaking with us. See below. Please let me know if this is a 6 roses or a full dozen mistake. My wife wrote back. One line: "You are an idiot."

For Pride? Amazingly, yes. If there is one thing that I know I can do well, it's run a good NCAA pool. I can actually envision the engraving on my headstone: "Dave Barend - Loving father and devoted husband? That's debatable. But he ran a damn good pool."

What I'd really like is to be able to say that I ran a stress-free pool. And I truly think this year I might be getting closer to that goal. My two biggest stressors are:

Stressor #1: Collecting $ -
Every year I swear that I'm not letting anyone in without first receiving their payment. Every single year I get a bunch of last minute calls. I've heard all the excuses:

There are threats like: Let me in or I'll tell everyone about that time with the ostrich

There are pleas to my sympathy like: I'm your mother, damn it.

There are also promises like: I'm writing the check now, well, not like right now, but as soon as I find my check book, and a stamp, and an envelope . . .

Then there are my friends who aren't actually deadbeats, but simply like to torture me by paying late. One year my buddy Gary sent his payment days before the Tourney started. Or so I thought. When I opened his envelope all that was inside was a note that read: "How pissed are you now?"

So, the pool ends up being financed by the Bank of Dave - the only bank currently doing worse than Washington Mutual.

Stressor #2.Fear of Prison Time -

It has occasionally dawned on me that the pool that I have been running for years over the Internet with friends across the country just might involve some federal violations. A quick LEXIS search revealed that such actions seem to be prohibited by: The Wire Act, The Paraphernalia Act (substantially less risqué than I had hoped), The Federal Anti-gambling Statute, and The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. I now have an image of me in Federal prison having a conversation with another inmate. "So what are you in for?" "Murder, how about you? "Violating the Professional and Amateur, er, I mean murder."

But even if my odds of ending up in the poky are likely slim, as an attorney I have another concern - The Board Of Bar Overseers. While doing a little time in the slammer would be one thing, getting disbarred would really have a negative impact on my career.

Before I called the BBO to ascertain my risk, I prepared some questions such as: Is it true that something can be illegal but not unethical? Has anyone ever been disbarred for running an NCAA pool? And, Do you have caller id?

The person I spoke to asserted that running an illegal NCAA pool could result in sanctions, but such a complaint would realistically be pushed to the far corner of his desk. He, however, refused to even acknowledge the possibility that such a file could be pushed off his desk and into his garbage can. Ethical people are so hard to bribe.

Solution: Make The Pool FREE -

You got it. My pool is completely FREE! Gone are my worries about collecting money and ending up in the big house ‘cause the pool will be FREE. Yes, I still have the stress of dealing with people who contact me in the middle of round three asking if there's anyway they can change their picks. And yes, I still have the stress of convincing people to join the pool. But that later concern should be slightly alleviated because the pool is FREE. Right now the pot is at $1,200 and growing all via donations.

Why the hell would anyone pay when they could enter for FREE? I'm banking on the most effective persuasive technique I know. No, it's nothing that I learned in law school, but instead something that I picked up from my torturous Catholic upbringing - guilt. Yes, I'm truly hoping that some of you will feel compelled to toss in 5-10 bucks. You know, since I'm giving my time and a good part of my hairline for this pool. I also went through 23 hours of labor just for you, so you damn well . . . Oh sorry, that one doesn't really apply.

But if you can't spare a few bucks or even if you just don't want to, no big deal, because the pool truly is FREE. I really only ask for one thing: When this pool inevitably leads to a fatal stress induced heart attack, please just raise a glass and say, "Dave Barend - That idiot ran a damn good pool."

[If you want to join the pool go to DaveBarendsCollegeHoopHumor.blogspot.com for the details. Nutshell: Pool's a basic bracket format and, most importantly, it's FREE!!! ]

NCAA Tournament: Keys to Success: Part One

Fairway Jay — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:04:04 -0700

Keys to NCAA Tournament Success by Fairway Jay, CHN Betting Expert

With the NCAA, NIT and CBI tournaments on the horizon, the astute handicapper, bettor and fan can better position themselves for success in betting games or tournament pools by knowing the strengths and weaknesses of both conferences and teams..

I've outlined some thoughts and key considerations in handicapping college basketball and tournament play. While there have been changes in the college game over the years with the shot clock and 3-point line (over 20 years ago!), the fundamentals of college basketball remain the same when evaluating the match-ups. I have relied on the these fundamentals and match-ups along with situations, scheduling, coaching, intangibles, a touch of technical analysis and of course energy and emotion to produce outstanding documented results and profits over the past four postseasons.

In the elimination format of the NCAA Tournament and any postseason game, one poor stretch of play or a scoring drought can quickly end a team's season. Likewise, a team that gets hot from the 3-point arch can ride that momentum to a victory. When handicapping a contest, the biggest statistical discrepancy can come in 3-point shooting, yet it is the hardest to predict. Evaluating how a team and players will perform under pressure in an elimination format can be a challenge. The difficulty for many handicappers and bettors is breaking down the match-ups with less familiar teams. Evaluating the statistical information, interpreting the data and analyzing how teams and players will perform when facing a different level of class opponent often keeps bettors away from unknown teams. That's where the intangibles of coaching, momentum, injuries, experience, leadership and team chemistry play a part. The technical side of the equation comes in evaluating situations and past performance such as a team's strength of schedule, performance playing on the road, results and level of play versus quality teams and understanding contrary patterns.

We can discuss quality guard play, interior post presence, 3-point and free throw shooting, pace of play and a go-to-guy in any match-up. But in so many contests, the team that defends the best, rebounds and takes care of the basketball can often overcome the opponent or their own off-shooting night. So here are some of the fundamentals to evaluate in upcoming games and postseason play.

Defense: While scoring continues to get headlines and highlights, teams that play defense and minimize turnovers and second chance opportunities will win more games. Coaching often plays a part in a team's discipline on defense, and teams that play hard on the defensive end are worth supporting. The type of defense a team plays may vary from game to game with man-to-man, zone or full court pressure. Teams that have quality athletes and flexibility to adjust are your best bets. After a full season of results, the overall body of work and numbers should tell the story. Key stats to analyze are defensive field goal percentage and turnovers forced, with overall points-per-game allowed also of note, especially versus quality teams. I prefer to utilize stats from conference play in the stronger conferences, and look at how teams outside of the top 40 or so performed against better competition. Look at a team's offensive tempo, and if a team has an efficient offense with a relatively high number of attempts and still plays solid defense, you likely have a team worth plenty of support.

Offense: With the top teams playing in the NCAA Tournament, many teams are capable on the defensive end of shutting down one scoring option. Look for teams with scoring balance, both from the perimeter and inside. Quality depth can be a factor, but teams will rely on their top players at crunch time. Recognize a team's turnover-to-assist ratio. The ability to play in the half court with an efficient offense and balanced scoring options will separate teams, especially in the second half as some teams start to wear down. Thus, unselfish teams that value and take care of the basketball and give their teammates good looks will ultimately win out with productive shooting.

Rebounding: One of the most overlooked areas in handicapping is evaluating a team's ability to rebound the basketball. The key here is rebounding margin, which goes together with a team's defensive field goal percentage. Teams that are physical, strong and athletic on the boards also create more fouls on the opponent and get to the free throw line more often. The top teams will always be strong in these areas, and the ability to control the boards and minimize second-chance points will go a long way in determining whether a team advances or not.

>> Continue to Part Two of Faiway Jay's Keys to Tournament Success

+ NCAA Basketball Tournament

• All Tournament Coverage

• NCAA Tournament Capsules

• NIT Capsules

• NCAA Tournament Schedule

• Venue Info & Tickets

• Bracketology

NCAA Tournament: Keys to Success: Part Two

Fairway Jay — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:01:41 -0700

..Continued From Part One of Fairway Jay's Tournament Keys to Success

Free Throw Shooting: The ability to make foul shots can not only be the difference in a close contest, but often determines whether you win or lose your wager in the closing minutes. Yet this statistic is probably one of the most misleading stats in college basketball. Here are some of the top team's free throw percentages in conference play this season through mid-February: Connecticut (67%), Pittsburgh (65%), North Carolina (77%), Oklahoma (69%), Michigan State (71%), Memphis (65%), Louisville (64%), Wake Forest (72%), Duke (69%), Clemson (69%), Marquette (69%), Villanova (71%), Kansas (74%), Missouri (67%), UCLA (76%), Washington (75%), Arizona State (72%), Purdue (69%), Illinois (69%), Gonzaga (73%), Xavier (67%),Utah (78%). Shooting under 71% is really sub-par, and yet the two teams that played in last year's NCAA Championship game were both sub-par with Memphis an atrocious 59% and Kansas 70% from the free throw line. Until they come up with a statistic that reflects a team's free throw shooting percentage in the closing minutes of a game, I would say less consideration should be given to this category.

3-Point Shooting: Nothing has changed the face of college basketball more than the ‘three-pointer'. The average number of 3-point shots made is nearly seven (7) per game with approximately 35% efficiency. This season the 3-point arch was moved back an additional foot to 20 feet 9 inches and teams are hitting just under 34% from the ‘arch'. As mentioned, the biggest statistical discrepancy can come in 3-point shooting, yet it is the hardest to predict. Teams can have a significant variance in performance from the arch on any given night. Thus, focusing on the defensive part of the equation and teams that are more active on the defensive end with a priority in defending the perimeter should be your main focus as well.

There you have it: Some of ‘Fairway's Fundamentals' in helping you determine winners in college basketball. For many of you that participate in NCAA Tournament pools and are focused on picking the winner and teams that will go to the Elite Eight and beyond, here are some additional ‘Fairway Facts' and tips to keep in mind. Each of the last 11 NCAA Tournament champions has come from the six ‘major' conferences. Last season, Memphis from Conference USA was NCAA Tournament runner-up after they blew a nine-point lead in the closing minutes and eventually lost to Kansas in overtime. For the most part, mid-major success in the NCAA Tournament is measured in Sweet Sixteen appearances, not Final Four's. Last year I wrote a tournament preview on 10-seed Davidson and noted they were a legitimate Sweet Sixteen team. They made it to the Elite Eight before losing to Kansas by 2 points, but won the money in all four NCAA Tournament games. Three years ago George Mason made a remarkable run to the Final Four, but those two examples are by far the exception and last season all four #1 seeds made it to the Final Four. Remember, television ratings are huge and the NCAA Tournament, like the college bowl season, is about making money for the universities, networks, etc. Just like people tune in to see Tiger Woods golf, the general public wants to see the top teams advance which of course drives TV ratings and produces more money. The NCAA Tournament committee will often ‘screw' the mid-majors by having the quality teams like Davidson and Gonzaga play each other in the opening round. Thus, no chance they can both advance.

To win four, five or six games in the NCAA Tournament essentially requires a top-level point guard, great inside/outside balance with strong perimeter shooters and the ability to pound the ball into the paint. Top contenders must be able to beat teams using their half court offense, and the defensive strength of the opponents becomes stronger as team's advance deeper into the tournament. One-dimensional or run-and-gun teams are not Final Four favorites. And finally as I've mentioned many times, top-level teams and those that reach the Final Four are almost always strong defensive teams and among the best rebounding teams. Add in some quality depth, and the criteria for a Final Four and Championship Game appearance is pretty specific: Dominating defense, rebounding, balance and quickness, high performance at the point and in the paint and the ability to efficiently run half court sets.

Best wishes as you try to make the key ‘shots', ‘score' and ‘shoot' for ‘fairways' and ‘green' in this year's NCAA Tournament and postseason games.

<< Return to Part One of Fairway Jay's Keys to Tournament Success

NCAA Tournament Contests: Top 10

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 10:46:08 -0700

A little low on cash because of the struggling economy? The NCAA Tournament is a good way to earn some back.. you could win up to $100 million getting a perfect bracket, thousands of dollars beating the masses in other games, or setting up your own pool and taking a cut of the action. Now matter how you do it, you need to play to win.

Here are over a dozen games, pools, and contests to keep you busy during March Madness:

CHN's $100 Million Bracket Contest - Win a crapload of money from our partner PickManager.com, and try and beat me along the way.

Yahoo: NCAA Tournament Pickem - Can't go wrong with any of Yahoo's fantasy offerings.

ESPN's Tournament Challenge - Prove yourself amongst the thousands, win $10,000. Really ESPN? $10k is all you can muster up?

CollegeFanz.com - Win $25 million here.. the catch is you need to pick a perfect men's bracket, women's bracket, and give them your 2nd child. All kidding aside, there's lots of prizes to win here, so check it out.

CBS BracketChallenge - Similar to ESPN. Bonus that you can watch MMOD while following your bracket.

CBS RoundByRound Brackets - A good alternative for those who don't want to be eliminated by the first weekend.

CBS BracketManager - Run your pool amongst friends. Beware all the AT&T ads.

Billy Packer's Bracket Game - Our partner FantasyPlayers.com features this game.. I guarantee you outscore Billy on any contest related to college basketball today.

FoxSports Bracket Challenge - Win a $1 million with a perfect bracket (kind of weak considering others offer $100 mill), or various Hooters related prizes.

CBS Selection Sunday Challenge - A new offering from CBS, where you predict what teams make the Tourney.

Facebook - There's a handful of highly popular NCAA Bracket games on Facebook sponsored by various companies.

BracketBrains - An interesting product I've never tried that theoretically helps you do better in pools.

BracketContest.com - No clue about this site, but it ranks high on Google, and it looks like they legitimately give out cash.

NBCSports: It's Madness - Win $5,000 from NBC. Come on NBC, you're NBC, give out some more dough.

+ NCAA Tournament

• All Tournament Coverage

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• Bracketology