On the surface, there isn’t much difference between FiveThirtyEight’s NCAA bracket and the consensus. Our most probable Final Four — Florida, Arizona, Michigan State and Louisville — are the same teams favored by the plurality of participants in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge. (They’re also the four teams President Obama chose for his bracket.) But there’s disagreement […]
Most of this year’s NCAA bracket contests follow the same tired format: Millions of people fill out a 64-team bracket and get points for correct picks — more if those picks come in later rounds. But some contests have their own quirks and present their own incentives. Some pools award bonus points for correctly predicting […]
Most of this year’s NCAA bracket contests follow the same tired format: Millions of people fill out a 64-team bracket and get points for correct picks — more if those picks come in later rounds. But some contests have their own quirks and present their own incentives. Some pools award bonus points for correctly predicting […]
Most office pools — and a certain billion-dollar bracket contest — insist the NCAA Tournament still has the pleasing, symmetrical, 64-team format: Six rounds, each winnowing the field by half, for a total of 63 games, 63 losers and one winner. Fans, likewise, haven’t gotten over the habit of calling the round of 64, played out […]
Most office pools — and a certain billion-dollar bracket contest — insist the NCAA Tournament still has the pleasing, symmetrical, 64-team format: Six rounds, each winnowing the field by half, for a total of 63 games, 63 losers and one winner. Fans, likewise, haven’t gotten over the habit of calling the round of 64, played out […]
