It's that time of year, comrades, and you'll need to bring your A-game to win this pool. And pay attention to the scoring rules, which are unique this year.
SCORING RULES -- READ THIS
We're going to do a (1) progressive Fibonacci scoring system with (2) an upset bonus. Here's how it works:
(1) CORRECT PICK SCORING
First Round Correct Pick = 2 points
Second Round Correct Pick = 3 points
Sweet 16 Correct Pick = 5 points
Elite Eight Correct Pick = 8 points
Final Four Correct Pick = 13 points
Title Game Correct Pick = 21 points
(2) UPSET BONUS
For each game that you pick correctly in which the team with a worse seed wins, you will receive a bonus equal to the difference between the seeds. In formula form: [Winning Seed - Losing Seed] x 1 point
Example: If (11) Nebraska defeats (6) Baylor, each bracket that picked Nebraska would receive 2 points from the standard correct pick scoring, plus an upset bonus of 5 points (11 - 6), for a total of 7 points. If, however Baylor beats Nebraska, then each bracket that picked Baylor would receive 2 points for the correct pick and there would be no upset bonus awarded.
Make sense? If you have questions, hit me up in the comments.
Why do this, you ask? Because Wiggo picks all chalk every year and it's boring to watch the Tourney with him as he roots like a roided out bouncer for the favorites to kick Cinderella out of the ball. How to change that? Change the incentives, because the one thing Wiggo loves more than chalk... is gambling.
In all seriousness, the objective here is just to provide an interesting twist that encourages you to be a little bit bolder with your BON bracket than you might under a traditional scoring system. If this scoring system upsets you, I'm sure you'll be in four other groups anyway, so just take a pass on ours this year.
HOW TO SIGN UP
To register for the pool:
1. Go to BON's Yahoo Pick Em page
2. Click "Join Pool"
3. Sign in to Yahoo or create an account
4. Submit your picks before Thursday
5. Profit