Rules: Shadetree NCAA March Madness

There are two separate competitions in the 2025 version of the Shadetree NCAA Tournament as follows:

The Bracket Competition

Rules for this competition will remain the same as they have been for the past 5 years.  In advance of the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament (March 16th) each player will fill out a bracket designating a winner for all games starting with the first round and progressing to the championship game (a total of 6 ‘rounds’).  The games played in the first round, among the original 64 teams (32 games) are worth 10 points each if the player picks the winner correctly.  The second round (among the remaining 32 teams - 16 games), has each correct pick worth 20 points.  Third round games are worth 40 points for each correct pick.  Fourth round (8 teams / 4 games) each correct pick is worth 80 points.  Correct picks in the Final Four round are worth 160 points and if a player successfully predicts the winner of the championship game, that is worth 320 points.

Each player fills out one bracket which represents $20 of the total $40 entry fee.  Once brackets are completed, they are locked and cannot be changed, only viewed.

As each round progresses, each player earns points with correct picks and at the end of the tournament, the player with the most points is the winner.  The pot is $20 times the number of brackets entered in our pool.  The player with the most points wins 70% of the pot, the 2nd place player wins 20% of the pot and 3rd place wins 10%.

The Top Ten Competition

There are 64 teams at the beginning of the NCAA Tournament.  Each player shall pick 10 of those teams for his or her Top Ten Group.  Each player shall earn points when a team in their Top Ten Group wins a game.  The number of points they receive for a win will be equal to the seeding number associated with the team in their Top Ten Group that achieves a win.  So, for example, if a player has a #1 seed like Duke, and a # 5 seed like N.C. State among their ten teams, and both Duke and N.C. State win their first round games, the player would receive 1 point for the Duke win and 5 points for the N.C. State win.

There are 6 ‘rounds’.  Once a team loses and is out of the tournament, they are no longer earning points for the player that picked them as part of his/her ten team group.  But, a #1 seed that goes all the way and wins the championship, wins 6 games and provides 6 points to the player’s cause.  Whereas, a #3 seed that only wins 2 games and gets eliminated in the third round, provides an equal number of points.

Each player shall pick only one Top Ten Group and the entry fee for this competition is $20.  The pot will be split between the top 3 players:  1st place: 70%, 2nd: 20% and 3rd place: 10%