The NCAA men's college basketball tournament is here, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in saying that it's the greatest tournament in all of sports! 68 Teams will face off in a single elimination tournament for the National Championship crown. Winner takes it all, but during that long journey, many upsets will occur, which is why many of us love this tournament.

Underdogs are an amazing aspect of the college tournament, but often forgotten when it comes to contests. I'm borrowing a concept I was introduced to about 10 years ago while working at a bank in Peoria, Illinois while going to Bradley University. By the way, Bradley University is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006! GO BRAVES!

Here is how it works, and I hope you will join me for a chance to win a share of 250 SCR!

The Rules

Your job is to pick the underdogs in the NCAA tournament that you believe will go the furthest. With every win from one of your selected teams, you will earn points. The higher the seed of the winner, the more points you will earn. Since tournament seeds range from 1-16, seeds 9 and higher are considered underdogs for the purposes of this competition.

Here are the rules:

• Choose a total of 8 teams seeded 9 or lower.

• You will need to choose one team that is seeded 9, 10, 11, and 12. You then have four remaining spaces that you can fill with any team that you have not already selected that is a seed from 9-16.

• The “First Four” victories do not count towards point totals. The teams you pick must win in the first round of the tournament, which takes place Thursday and Friday.

• All submissions must be made by 8 AM Central on Thursday, March 21.

• Points will accumulate throughout the entire NCAA Tournament until there are no underdog teams left or all teams selected by contestants in this contest are eliminated.

• The player with the most total points wins the competition. There will be two tie-breaker questions.

• If teams and tie-breakers are the same, the player who posted first will get the win.

• To play, you must have an account that is recognized as an individual. One entry per-person. Those caught plagiarizing in the past will not be able to play. Contact me with questions.

Scoring

In the first round of the tournament, you will earn the number of points that corresponds with the seed (ranking) of the team you picked if they are able to pull off the upset.

For example, Bradley is a #15 seed. If they somehow upset #2 Michigan State in the first round, you will earn 15 points. If you choose a #9 seed and they win, you will earn 9 points, etc. These points double in the second round, meaning that if Bradley won their first round contest and then won another game in the tournament, you would earn 30 points for the second round victory in addition to their first round victory for a total of 45 points.

For the remaining rounds, the team’s seed is multiplied by the round (3rd round = x3, 4th round = x4).

Eligible Teams

#9 Seeds: Oklahoma, UCF, Washington, Baylor

#10 Seeds: Florida, Seton Hall, Minnesota, Iowa

#11 Seeds: Arizona State/St. John’s, Ohio State, Saint Mary’s, Belmont/Temple

#12 Seeds: Murray State, NMSU, Liberty, Oregon

#13 Seeds: Vermont, Northeastern, St. Louis, UC Irvine

#14 Seeds: Northern Kentucky, Georgia State, Yale, Old Dominion

#15 Seeds: Montana, Abilene Christian, Bradley, Colgate

#16 Seeds: Fairleigh Dickinson/Prairie View A&M, Iona, NC Central/North Dakota St., Gardner-Webb

Tie-Breakers

After choosing your 8 underdog teams, also give me the following:

TB1: Who will win the National Championship?

TB2: What #1 seed will be the first to lose (Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, North Carolina)?

Mikey's Entry

Yes, I am definitely playing. Here are my official picks.

#9. Baylor

#10. Seton Hall

#11. Belmont/Temple

#12. Liberty

Wild Cards: (#14) Yale, (#14) Old Dominion, (#12) Murray State, (#10) Iowa

TB1: Michigan State

TB2: Gonzaga

Prizes

1st Place: 200 SCR

2nd Place: 40 SCR

3rd Place: 10 SCR

Additional Notes

Thanks for viewing and entering! I will try to put out standings updates and I may add mini contests to keep the fun going throughout the NCAA Tournament, which is the best tournament in all of sports!

Want to Partner with My Contest?

If interested in partnering or donating to this contest, please contact me by commenting below or sending me a message on Discord.

Other Contests to Enter

I recently added 200 SCR to @broncofan99's contest, which allows you to pick your top teams for the tournament. Enter his competition here.

View the full NCAA Tournament bracket here.

Enter your picks below before the deadline this Thursday and good luck!