PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, the national semifinals have featured four #1 seeds only once, in 2008.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, a team named Connecticut, Kentucky, Duke, or UNC has won just over half of the championships.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, Duke has 6 appearances in the national semifinals.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, nineteen #11 seeds have advanced to the round of 16.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, 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

In twenty eight years, Michigan State has made the round of 16 fifteen times.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, Kentucky has made the round of 16 sixteen times.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, the ACC has had seven schools advance to the national semifinals (Duke, UNC, Ga. Tech, Virginia, Syracuse, Miami, and former member Maryland).
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, a #14 seed has upset a #3 seed 12 times. It happened twice in 2014.
PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, Syracuse has made the round of 16 twelve times.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, Arizona has made the round of 16 fourteen times.
PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, the Pac 12 has had four different schools advance to the national semifinals (UCLA, Arizona, Stanford, and Oregon).
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, ten schools have advanced to the round of 16 more than ten times (Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State, UNC, Arizona, UCLA, Syracuse, Gonzaga, and UConn).
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, the national semifinals have featured four #1 seeds only once, in 2008.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, only four teams seeded lower than #5 have reached the national championship game (#8 Butler in 2011, #7 Connecticut vs. #8 Kentucky in 2014, and #8 UNC in 2022).
PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, the average number of #1 seeds in the national semifinals round is 1.56.
PickHoops QuickFact

In twenty eight years, a team named Connecticut, Kentucky, Duke, or UNC has won just over half of the championships.

PickHoops Scoring

For all scoring, we ignore the so-called "first round" games that are played 2 days after the teams are announced. We start our round numbers with "1" once the field of 64 is set, continuing up to round "6" as the championship game.

Basic Scoring

Using basic scoring, group owners choose how many points to award per correct pick for each round, from round 1 to round 6.

Advanced Scoring

When using advanced scoring, the following bonuses can be multiplied and/or added to the points awarded for each correct game. Bonuses are applied for correctly picked games for all rounds of the tournament.

Bonus: Seed number

Add or multiply the seed number of the winning team.

Bonus: Seed number for upsets

Add or multiply the seed number of the winning team if the actual result is an upset (higher seed number wins).

For example, if you correctly pick #10 N.C. State and they beat #7 UCLA, you would receive a bonus of 10 either added or multiplied to your score.

To receive this bonus you did not also have to pick the loser of the game correctly, just the winner.

Bonus: Difference in seed number for upsets

Add or multiply the difference between the seed numbers of the two teams.

For example, if in the first round you correctly pick #12 Mississippi State and they beat #5 Kansas you would receive a bonus of 7 either added or multipied to your score.

Past the first round things get complicated. There are 2 configurable ways to handle this:

Use seed of actual opponents if the actual result is an upset (default).
The seed numbers used for the calculation are the seed numbers of the actual teams that played in the game. For example, if you pick #4 California to win its 3rd round game, and they beat #1 Duke in the actual tournament, you would receive a bonus of 3. If in the actual tournament they beat #8 Wisconsin, you recieve no bonus.

It does not matter which opponent you predict they would play against, or whether that opponent appears in the game, or what seed the predicted opponent would be.
Use seed of best possible opponent.
The seed numbers used for the calculation are the seed numbers of the predicted winner and their best possible opponent. For example, if you correctly pick #4 California to win its 3rd round game, you receive a bonus of 3 because their best possible opponent would be a #1 seed.

It does not matter who California actually beats in that game -- even if they beat a #8 seed, you still receive 3 points because they could have been playing against a #1. It also does not matter which opponent you predict, whether that opponent appears in the game or not, or what seed the predicted opponent would be.

Bonus: Add points per round

Add a custom number of points based on the round (1 through 6).

Bonus: Add points per round for upsets

Add a custom number of points based on the round if the actual result was an upset.


Grid Scoring

Grid scoring is an alternate approach that allows you to choose how many points to award per seed per round.

Contact us to enable Grid Scoring.

Extra bonuses

Extra scoring bonuses include:
Contact us to enable Extra bonuses.

Tiebreakers

Groups have the option to select up to three tiebreakers for the purpose of resolving ties in the standings for their group. These tiebreakers will be evaluated in the order that the group owner specifies. Further ties are left as ties in PickHoops standings.

Tiebreaker: Riskiest upset picks

Each bracket is evaluated using the exclusive PickHoops risk assessor, which computes the risk of each chosen upset versus historical tournament results. The bracket that is deemed riskiest by this methodology wins this tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker: Most games correct

This tiebreaker evaluates the total number of correct games in the bracket, regardless of round.

Tiebreaker: Most games correct in first round

This tiebreaker evaluates the number of correct picks in the first round only (32 games).

Tiebreaker: Most games correct in first 2 rounds

This tiebreaker evaluates the number of correct picks in the first two rounds (48 games).

Tiebreaker: Most games correct in latest round

This tiebreaker evaluates the brackets by the number of correct games by round, starting with the championship game and working back to the first round games. A bracket beats another when it has more games picked correctly in a later round.

Tiebreaker: Total points in championship game

When using this tiebreaker, entrants must enter the predicted score of the championship game.

The bracket with the combined scores of both teams in the championship game closest to the actual combined score wins the tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker: Championship game point spread

When using this tiebreaker, entrants must enter the predicted score of the championship game.

The bracket whose difference in points between the two teams in the championship game is closest to the actual difference wins the tiebreaker. The difference is calculated by subtracting the predicted score of the team on the right side of the bracket from the predicted score of the team on the left side. So if you filled 78-66 into your bracket, the point spread would be 12. But if you filled 71-77 into your bracket, the point spread would be -6.

For the purposes of this tiebreaker, it doesn't matter which teams made it to the championship game or which scored more.