Scoring & Rules

The prediction contest is broken into two sub-contests, one encompassing the full season and one that includes only ACC games (including the ACC Tournament).

Each player's score is the total of the individual game scores, less any game bonuses. For the ACC contest, each player's worst score will be thrown out; for the Full Season, the worst two scores. The winner is the player with the lowest score.

Make your pick for each game by replying to a post on the NDNation Pit by either El Kabong or IrishMace (will likely read "Everybody on the record..." or "Official Prediction Thread..."). The thread closes at the scheduled tip-off time for the game. The scores are read from the thread by a script, so please observe the following guidelines when posting:

1. Post your pick in the subject line of the message. The body of the post is ignored.
2. List ND's score first even if you are picking ND to lose.
3. Humorous nicknames for the teams are encouraged, but note that the script will grab the first two numbers it finds between 10-199.
4. If you change your mind, use the Edit Post or Delete Post function instead of re-posting or replying to your post.
5. Obvious Ditka-esque picks (ND a hunnert an' fitty, Cuse tree) will be ignored so as to not screw up missing-a-game penalties.
6. Posts will be sanity checked before being processed by the script to correct those that didn't follow these guidelines, but the less time I spend on that, the better.

Your score for each game is the sum of the following components:

1. Margin of Victory: 1 point for each point your pick is off from the actual margin.
   • Example: ND wins by 5. You pick ND to win by 7 = 2 points; you pick ND to lose by 3 = 8 points.
2. Absolute Score: 1/4 of a point for each point your picks are off from the actual score. The total is rounded down.
   • Example: ND wins 88-76, you picked 81-60.
     (88 - 81) + (76 - 60) = 7 + 16 = 23. 23 / 4 = 5.75 = 5 points.
3. Picking a Loser: If you pick the wrong team to win, 10 points.
4. Bonuses: For picking (nearly) exact scores, take some points off your score:
   • -1 point (each) for picking a team's score within 1 point of actual.
   • -2 points for picking one team's score exactly.
   • -5 points (total) for picking both scores exactly.

Game Bonuses: The top three picks for each game earn bonuses for the contest. Ties are broken first by margin then by absolute score. If still tied, both players get the same bonus.

• 1st Place: -5 points
• 2nd Place: -3 points
• 3rd Place: -1 point

If you miss a game, your score will be equal to the worst score for that game plus 10 points. If you miss eight games, you're disqualified from the Full Season contest (but not necessarily from the ACC contest). If you miss four ACC games, you're out of that contest.

If you have any questions, or if your scores appear incorrect, email IrishMace.

Good luck, and GO IRISH!