The Volokh Conspiracy - VC March Madess Pool:

As we head into the Elite Eight today, the VC March Madness pool is wide open. Most of the front-runners have chosen North Carolina to go all the way, so if that happens they will presumably remain bunched at the top of the pack. Conspirators Jim and Ilya are both still in the hunt as well. Recall that correctly picking the regional champs is worth 8 points, the finalists is worth 16, and the champion is worth 32, so there is still a lot of movement available in the standings.

Yours truly is tied for 49th. In addition, one Doc Nix bobblehead is on its way to Rick Garnett, whose Notre Dame squad easily took down George Mason on the opening night of the tournament and thereby messed up my bracket. The good thing about being clearly out of the race is now I can simply enjoy the tournament.

Ironically, the entrant named "Davidson Dispatch" only had confidence in his team to go one round so while he remains in the hunt is still 5 points off the pace.

Related Posts (on one page):

(link)

John (mail):

I confess I'm new to this. May I ask how the scoring system was worked out? Is there some mathematical basis for assigning the points?

3.29.2008 2:15pm

hawkins:

Im not sure what you mean by "mathematical basis," but from a quick look ("regional champs is worth 8 points, the finalists is worth 16, and the champion is worth 32"), it appears the games in each round are worth twice as many points as the previous round.

3.29.2008 3:19pm

I recognize the doubling, but I wonder why. Let me give an example. A,B,C and D are in the first round. You pick the winner of A-B and the winner of C-D. For each winner you get 1 point. Now we are off to round 2. A and C won, and you, having picked A and D in the first round, are still alive with 1 point. Now you pick A again and A wins. How many points is that worth? Under the method above, it would be 2. But this means that in some sense it was twice as hard to pick A over D as A over B. True? The point is that you are really being rewarded a second time for your round 1 pick.

Since you won't get any round 2 points unless, as a precondition, you won a round 1 point you have, as it were, already paid the price for getting to round 2; once there, your reward should be no different from that for picking any other winner.

Perhaps the doubling method of point allocation is a mixup with another idea. If, before the tournament starts, I am allowed just to pick a second round winner, without first having to pick a first round winner (i.e., I skip the first round), then I can see giving me 2 points (as the above method would)--for impliedly I had to make two choices to get to that second round winner. But I wouldn't give me 3 points, as the above method would if I picked the first and second round...

3.29.2008 10:10pm

Ilya Somin:

I'm surprised to still be "in the hunt." Because I don't know much about college basketball, I essentially just picked all the favorites - assuming that the selection committee's judgment is better than mine. For the Final Four, I have UNC over UCLA in the finals - also following conventional wisdom. If I win, it will be a triumph for heuristics and conventional wisdom rather than for any great insight of mine.

3.30.2008 3:23am

BU2L:

Surprisingly, none of the current top scorers have UCLA to win, which means if UCLA wins, there's still a shot for some of us to get into the top 10 finishers ;)

3.30.2008 6:16pm

wolfefan (mail):

Hi -

I'm Davidson Dispatch - my last name is Davidson, I'm a PD/FD dispatcher, and I've been a Davidson College fan since I discovered them in a magazine at age 8 living in Tipp City, Ohio. I even took a trip down to Davidson, NC once to see the college - lovely campus, lovely small town setting. I was sorely tempted to go another round with them, but couldn't bring myself to do it (I now live in the DC area and have trouble rooting against the Hoyas!) If they could have pulled it off tonight vs Kansas, that would have been a nice way to shake up the brackets!

Even if I finish last overall, it's worth it to be mentioned in a Conspiracy post, albeit one that has nothing to do with law or politics.

Best to all...

3.30.2008 10:14pm

	[Todd Zywicki, March 29, 2008 at 11:40am] Trackbacks VC March Madess Pool: As we head into the Elite Eight today, the VC March Madness pool is wide open. Most of the front-runners have chosen North Carolina to go all the way, so if that happens they will presumably remain bunched at the top of the pack. Conspirators Jim and Ilya are both still in the hunt as well. Recall that correctly picking the regional champs is worth 8 points, the finalists is worth 16, and the champion is worth 32, so there is still a lot of movement available in the standings. Yours truly is tied for 49th. In addition, one Doc Nix bobblehead is on its way to Rick Garnett, whose Notre Dame squad easily took down George Mason on the opening night of the tournament and thereby messed up my bracket. The good thing about being clearly out of the race is now I can simply enjoy the tournament. Ironically, the entrant named "Davidson Dispatch" only had confidence in his team to go one round so while he remains in the hunt is still 5 points off the pace. Related Posts (on one page): Our First NCAA March Madness Contest is Over.-- Volokh March Madness Finals.-- Final Four: Update on VC March Madness Contest. VC March Madess Pool: VC March Madness: VC March Madness Pool: (link) John (mail): I confess I'm new to this. May I ask how the scoring system was worked out? Is there some mathematical basis for assigning the points? 3.29.2008 2:15pm (link) hawkins: Im not sure what you mean by "mathematical basis," but from a quick look ("regional champs is worth 8 points, the finalists is worth 16, and the champion is worth 32"), it appears the games in each round are worth twice as many points as the previous round. 3.29.2008 3:19pm (link) John (mail): I recognize the doubling, but I wonder why. Let me give an example. A,B,C and D are in the first round. You pick the winner of A-B and the winner of C-D. For each winner you get 1 point. Now we are off to round 2. A and C won, and you, having picked A and D in the first round, are still alive with 1 point. Now you pick A again and A wins. How many points is that worth? Under the method above, it would be 2. But this means that in some sense it was twice as hard to pick A over D as A over B. True? The point is that you are really being rewarded a second time for your round 1 pick. Since you won't get any round 2 points unless, as a precondition, you won a round 1 point you have, as it were, already paid the price for getting to round 2; once there, your reward should be no different from that for picking any other winner. Perhaps the doubling method of point allocation is a mixup with another idea. If, before the tournament starts, I am allowed just to pick a second round winner, without first having to pick a first round winner (i.e., I skip the first round), then I can see giving me 2 points (as the above method would)--for impliedly I had to make two choices to get to that second round winner. But I wouldn't give me 3 points, as the above method would if I picked the first and second round... 3.29.2008 10:10pm (link) Ilya Somin: I'm surprised to still be "in the hunt." Because I don't know much about college basketball, I essentially just picked all the favorites - assuming that the selection committee's judgment is better than mine. For the Final Four, I have UNC over UCLA in the finals - also following conventional wisdom. If I win, it will be a triumph for heuristics and conventional wisdom rather than for any great insight of mine. 3.30.2008 3:23am (link) BU2L: Surprisingly, none of the current top scorers have UCLA to win, which means if UCLA wins, there's still a shot for some of us to get into the top 10 finishers ;) 3.30.2008 6:16pm (link) wolfefan (mail): Hi - I'm Davidson Dispatch - my last name is Davidson, I'm a PD/FD dispatcher, and I've been a Davidson College fan since I discovered them in a magazine at age 8 living in Tipp City, Ohio. I even took a trip down to Davidson, NC once to see the college - lovely campus, lovely small town setting. I was sorely tempted to go another round with them, but couldn't bring myself to do it (I now live in the DC area and have trouble rooting against the Hoyas!) If they could have pulled it off tonight vs Kansas, that would have been a nice way to shake up the brackets! Even if I finish last overall, it's worth it to be mentioned in a Conspiracy post, albeit one that has nothing to do with law or politics. Best to all... 3.30.2008 10:14pm