PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, the first-round game between the #8 and #9 seeded teams is split almost evenly. #8 leads 55-53, including 4 wins in 2015.
PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, only six #9 seeds have made it to the round of 16.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, 42 out of 108 national semifinal teams were #1 seeds.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, more #11 seeds (19) have advanced to the round of 16 than #8 or #9 seeds.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, Duke has made the round of 16 eighteen times.
PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, 48 different schools have advanced to the national semifinals.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, only three times did seeds #1, #2, and #3 in a region all fail to advance to the round of 16. This happened in once in 2018 and twice in 2000.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, no team seeded #6 has reached the national semifinals, let alone won the national championship.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, only eleven times has a region's first round games gone according to seed (i.e. chalk).
PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, thirteen out of twenty seven national semifinals have had at least one SEC team.
PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, only 15 out of 108 national semifinal teams were seeded lower than #5. In 2011, there were two (#8 Butler and #11 Virginia Commonwealth). In 2014, #7 Connecticut and #8 Kentucky advanced.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, Kentucky has made the round of 16 sixteen times.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, three #3 seeds have won the championship (Syracuse in 2003, Florida in 2006 and UConn in 2011).
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, only Kansas has made it into the tournament every single year.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, a #15 seed has upset a #2 seed 9 times. It happened twice in 2012.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, thirteen out of twenty seven national semifinals have had at least one SEC team.
PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, the Big 12 has had six different schools advance to the national semifinals (Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Baylor).

PickHoops Press Package

PickHoops is a small company based in Durham, NC, that manages national college basketball tournament bracket contests at https://www.pickhoops.com/ .

PickHoops started in 1996 when a bunch of computer geeks got tired of scoring their brackets by hand and applied web technologies, then brand new, to solve the problem. The first year PickHoops handled less than 40 brackets; the 2006 version handled tens of thousands across many hundreds of office groups and promotional contests.

Web surfers can sign up for a 25-bracket pool for $9.95, and invite their friends to play for no additional charge. PickHoops also handles larger pools ideal for corporate promotions, such as radio stations, that handle 500 brackets or more.

It takes longer to score a typical pool by hand over the entire 6-round tournament than to actually play a game of college basketball.

PickHoops competes in a crowded field dominated by large media, web, and sports companies. PickHoops distinguishes itself by allowing more customization of scoring systems and tiebreakers and exclusive features like the Quick Pick. The PickHoops Quick Pick lets the computer fill out a bracket with randomly selected teams. The advanced statistical algorithm takes into account past tournament results to pick only the likeliest upsets. Recently a Quick Pick finished first in a pool of more than 30 "real" players.

Another innovative PickHoops feature is the Basketball IQ score. PickHoops asks each user to describe their own level of basketball knowledge on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is "none" and 5 is "all-knowing", and then compares their own rating with their actual results.

PickHoops also distinguishes itself from larger companies by offering pages with no advertising, no spam, and by not selling its users' data to marketing companies.

Office pool gambling is illegal in many states, although enforcement is unevenly applied. PickHoops was originally created for "teambuilding" within a corporation, as a means to bring its employees together with a fun activity. PickHoops does not include features that specifically cater to gambling, and is designed for amusement only.

PickHoops was founded by Chris Hehman (pronounced Hay-men), a graduate of Virigina Tech who doesn't have any time to watch college basketball with the demands of running PickHoops.

For all press contacts, use the email address on the contacts page.

PickHoops, LLC