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March Bracket
Thursday marks the traditional start of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament, which annually produces some great drama, high-stakes bets and bracket challenges. People across the country love to challenge their friends, co-workers and relatives to see who can fill out the best and most accurate bracket.
The Watonga Republican invites you to get in on the action with our 2022 Bracket Bonanza, featuring a cash prize for the winner and runner-up.
The deadline to enter for maximum points is this Thursday, March 17 at noon, and mailed brackets must be postmarked by March 17. Brackets received after that can still be considered, but no points will be awarded for games already completed or in progress!
Entrants will receive points for each correct prediction, with points increasing in each subsequent round.
Filling in a March bracket has become something of a tradition – even some U.S. presidents have done it – and this week you’ll see countless articles on how best to do it. For instance, only one No. 16 seed has ever upset a No. 1 seed, so top seeds are a pretty safe bet to go through. Also, No. 9 seeds actually beat the No. 8 teams more often than not.
But there’s one strategy that almost no one writes about: guessing. That’s really the best thing you can do. There’s a reason there is never a perfect bracket – the odds of filling one out perfectly, just by guessing, are 1 in 9.2 quintillion.
It would be easier to win back-to-back lotteries, buying just one ticket each time. But don’t let that stop you from trying! Because our paper prints on Wednesdays, you’ll have to act fast to get the maximum points. Brackets must be filled out and returned by noon on March 17, or else some games will have started already.
No photocopied brackets will be accepted. Entries are limited to one per person and one per household. Entrants must be 16 or older.
The contestant who gets the most points from their bracket will win a $100 prize, with $50 going to the runner-up. The Watonga Republican is also donating a portion of the Bracket Bonanza proceeds to this year’s high school prom.
Scoring will be as follows:
- 1st Round - 1 point per correct prediction
- 2nd Round - 2 points per correct prediction
- Round of 16 - 4 points per correct prediction
- Quarterfinals - 8 points per correct prediction
- Semifinals - 16 points per correct prediction
- Finals - 32 points per correct prediction
- In case of a tiebreaker the tiebreaker will be the combined score of the Championship Game.
Scores will be compiled after the championship game held Monday, April 4.
To help get you started, here is the historic firstround winning percentage of every seed:
• 1 seeds: 99.3%
• 2 seeds: 93.8% • 3 seeds: 84.7%
• 4 seeds: 78.5%
• 5 seeds: 64.6%
• 6 seeds: 62.5%
• 7 seeds: 60.4%
• 8 seeds: 49.3%
• 9 seeds: 50.7%
• 10 seeds: 39.6%
• 11 seeds: 37.5%
• 12 seeds: 35.4%
• 13 seeds: 21.5%
• 14 seeds: 15.3%
• 15 seeds: 6.3%
• 16 seeds: 0.7%
Good luck!