How scoring works
The closer you land, the more it pays.
Call both scores. Each team's score is graded on its own, on one curve: 25 for an exact number, down to 0 at 12 or more off. The two add up, then the bonuses stack on top.
Every number on this page comes from the live scoring config, the same one the scoring job reads.
01The one-sentence version
Call the final score. The closer you land, the more you earn. Call it exactly and it's worth a lot.
Exact team score
25
Per team
Perfect game
+50
Both scores exact
Score pick max
135
Before multipliers
Props · slate max
40 · 32
Per game · per week
02The score curve
Each team's score is graded on its own, on the same curve. Over or under makes no difference: call 70 when it ends 74 and you are 4 off, same as calling 78.
Per team score
Points by distance
| How far off | Per team | Both teams |
|---|---|---|
| Exactly right | 25 | 50 |
| 1 point off | 22 | 44 |
| 2 points off | 19 | 38 |
| 3 points off | 16 | 32 |
| 4 points off | 13 | 26 |
| 5 points off | 10 | 20 |
| 6 points off | 8 | 16 |
| 7 points off | 6 | 12 |
| 8 points off | 4 | 8 |
| 9 points off | 3 | 6 |
| 10 points off | 2 | 4 |
| 11 points off | 1 | 2 |
| 12 or more off | 0 | 0 |
Two teams. Two scores. Added together.
Both teams are scored on the same curve, one at a time, and the two scores are added. There is no single combined distance. Each team's score earns up to 25, so the curve alone is worth up to 50 (2 × 25).
You call 75–70. It ends 78–71.
- Your team called 75, final 78: 3 off
- +16
- Your rival called 70, final 71: 1 off
- +22
- Curve total
- 38
No score pick for a game means 0 from the curve.
03Bonuses
Bonuses stack on top of the curve. Margins are always Your team points minus Your rival points, and the spread is the line frozen 2 hours before tip-off.
- Right winner
- Predicted winner matches the actual winner (a predicted tie counts for neither side).Example: You pick Your team 75, Your rival 68. It ends Your team 81, Your rival 70: +10.
- +10
- Beat the spread
- Your predicted margin lands on the same side of the spread frozen 2 hours before tip-off as the actual margin (a push scores 0).Example: Your team is getting 4½. You pick Your team 70, Your rival 73 (Your team covers). It ends Your team 78, Your rival 74 (Your team covers): +10, even with the wrong winner.
- +10
- Margin lock
- Your predicted margin is within 5 points of the actual margin.Example: You pick Your team by 9. It ends Your team by 4, 5 apart: +10.
- +10
- Fight the Bias
- You picked Your team to lose, and Your team lost.Example: You pick Your team 68, Your rival 75. It ends Your team 64, Your rival 72: +5.
- +5
- Perfect game
- Both scores exactly right.Example: You pick Your team 78, Your rival 74 and it ends exactly that: +50 on top of 50 from the curve.
- +50
04Multipliers
- Confidence pick
- Once a month, flag a game as your confidence pick. Your score pick on that game counts double. Props and slate picks count as usual.Regular-season games only. One per calendar month, by the tip-off date in league time. Use it or lose it: an unused one doesn't carry over to the next month.
- 2×
- Rivalry game
- Games against your rivals count 1.5× for everyone, applied after all bonuses.It applies to props and does not apply to slate picks.
- 1.5×
- Late pick
- Pick in the last 60 minutes before tip-off and it scores 85%. You also wear the Chicken tag on the leaderboard. A nudge, not a punishment.The same penalty applies to late props and slate picks (per game).
- 85%
Multipliers stack. They multiply together, then the total rounds once to 1 decimal place. A late confidence score pick in a rivalry game counts 2 × 1.5 × 0.85 = 2.55×.
05Props
Every Your team game brings 3 over/unders. Take the over or the under on each, and mark one as your Lock for that game. Props are optional: skip them and your score pick still counts.
| Result | Pick | Lock |
|---|---|---|
| Correct | 10 | 20 |
| Wrong | 0 | 0 |
| PushOnly on a whole-number line. A ½ line cannot push. | 0 | 0 |
No negative points. Props top out at 40 a game before multipliers (2 × 10 + the Lock at 20).
How lines are set
| Prop | Default line |
|---|---|
| Your team threes made | Your team's season average to date, set on a ½ (7½ until there is enough data). |
| Your team's leading scorer's points | Your team's season average to date, set on a ½ (18½ until there is enough data). |
| Your team rebound margin | Your team's season average to date, set on a ½ (2½ until there is enough data). |
Season averages are set on a ½, so the stat can never land exactly on the line. No pushes. Lines go up when the game is a week away, from Your team's games so far this season. The commissioner can edit any line until props freeze with the spread, 2 hours before tip-off. Props are scored from the box score.
Voids, lateness and rivalry week
- If the stat is missing (a player sat, or the box score lacks it), the commissioner voids that prop and everyone scores 0 on it. A voided Lock can be moved to another prop by the commissioner, for everyone.
- Props lock at tip-off, like the score pick, and the late-pick penalty applies.
- The rivalry multiplier (1.5×) applies to props too.
06Slate picks
Every week everyone gets the same 3 other games against the spread. Winner only: tap the side you think covers. Mark one as your Lock of the Week. Skip a game and it scores 0.
| Result | Pick | Lock |
|---|---|---|
| Correct against the spread | 8 | 16 |
| PushThe final margin lands exactly on the spread. | 4 | 8 |
| Wrong | 0 | 0 |
The slate tops out at 32 a week (2 × 8 + the Lock at 16).
How the games are chosen
- 2 games with a team ranked in the AP top 25.
- 1 game from your team's conference.
Only games with a spread qualify, and duplicates are skipped. The week's games are chosen Monday morning, and the commissioner can swap any of them until its line freezes, 2 hours before tip-off.
Locks, lateness and voids
- Each game locks at its own tip-off, so you can still pick the late game after the early one starts. The late-pick penalty applies per game.
- The rivalry multiplier does not apply to slate picks.
- A postponed or cancelled game is voided: everyone scores 0 on it, and a Lock placed on it can be moved until that game's original tip-off.
07Season predictions
One preseason call per member: the record, the tournament bid and the tournament exit.
Before the season, everyone makes one call on your team's season: three questions, scored when the answers are known. It sits next to the game-by-game picks all season and pays out at the end.
- Regular-season record
- Wins, out of the scheduled regular-season games. Losses are the rest.Points by how far off your wins are from the final regular-season record (table below).
- Up to 50
- NCAA tournament bid
- Yes or No.25 if you call it right.
- +25
- Tournament exit
- The round the season ends in, from No bid to Champion.Exact round 50, one round off 20. No bid called and no bid earned counts as exact.
- Up to 50
Wins, by how far off
| How far off | Points |
|---|---|
| Exactly right | 50 |
| 1 win off | 40 |
| 2 wins off | 30 |
| 3 wins off | 20 |
| 4 wins off | 10 |
| 5 or more off | 0 |
Tournament rounds
From no bid to the title, in order. One round off means the round just before or after the one the season ends in.
- No bid
- First Four
- Round of 64
- Round of 32
- Sweet 16
- Elite Eight
- Final Four
- Championship game
- Champion
Locks and scoring
- The most a season prediction can earn is 125, before the Fight the Bias bonus.
- Fight the Bias: call No bid for your team and be right, and it adds 5.
- It locks at tip-off of your team's first regular-season game. Until then you can change it; after, nobody can.
- The record is scored automatically when the regular season ends (conference tournament games do not count). The commissioner confirms the bid and the exit round after the tournament, and those score when saved.
- The points count toward your season total once, when they are scored.
- After the lock, the Board's season tracker shows every call next to the current record: the most optimistic is tagged Biggest Homer, the most pessimistic Fight the Bias.
08The three locks
| Lock | Applies to |
|---|---|
| Confidence pickOnce a month | Your score pick on that game counts double. Props and slate picks count as usual. |
| Prop LockEvery game | 1 of the 3 props on each game: 20 if right instead of 10. |
| Slate LockWeekly | 1 of your 3 slate games: 16 if right instead of 8, 8 on a push. |
09Worked example
One game for one member: the score pick and its 3 props, plus the week's 3 slate games. Every line item.
Your call
TEAM75–70RIVAL
Final
TEAM78–71RIVAL
The game
- Your team −4½
- Your team at home
- Rivalry game
Your team 78, Your rival 71. You called Your team 75, Your rival 70.
Worked example
Score pick
- Your team scorePicked 75, final 78: 3 points off.
- +16
- Your rival scorePicked 70, final 71: 1 point off.
- +22
- Right winnerYou picked Your team, and Your team won.
- +10
- Beat the spreadYour team −4½. Your margin +5: Your team covers. Final margin +7: Your team covers.
- +10
- Margin lockYour margin +5 vs. final +7: 2 apart (5 or less earns it).
- +10
- Fight the BiasYou did not pick Your team to lose.
- 0
- Perfect gameNeither score exact.
- 0
- Rivalry gameApplied after all bonuses. Before multipliers: 68.
- 1.5×
Worked example
Props
- Your team threes made · LockTook the over at 7½. Actual 9. Right.
- +20
- Your team's leading scorer's pointsTook the under at 18½. Actual 22. Wrong.
- 0
- Your team rebound marginTook the over at 2½. Actual 6. Right.
- +10
- Rivalry gameBefore multipliers: 30.
- 1.5×
Worked example
Slate
- North Carolina at DukeTook Duke −6½. Final 70–80. Covered.
- +8
- Kansas at Houston · LockTook Houston −3. Final 67–70. Push.
- +8
- Michigan State at PurdueTook Purdue −4½. Final 70–72. Didn't cover.
- 0
Total
Score pick 102 + props 45 + slate 16
163PTS
The most each can earn, before multipliers
Score pick
135
Per game
Props
40
Per game
Slate
32
Per week
10Tie-breakers and season awards
The season leaderboard ranks everyone by total points: score picks, props, slate picks and the season prediction added together. Tied? The tie breaks on:
- Most exact halves (a team score called exactly)
- Most right winners
Season awards
- Oracle
- Most season points.
- Nostradamus
- Most exact halves (team scores called exactly).
- Sharp
- Best record against the spread.
- Homer of the Year
- Highest Homer Index at season's end.
- Crank of the Year
- Lowest Homer Index at season's end.
- Iron Member
- No missed weeks all season.
11Points calculator
Settle the argument. Enter a call and a final to see the points. It starts on the worked example above.
Type +3.5 if Your team is getting 3½, or −7 if Your team is giving 7. Blank means no line.
Points off
RIVAL1
TEAM3
Right there.
102
PTS
102 points. Right there.
Per team score
Where your call lands
Your team is 3 off: +16. Your rival is 1 off: +22. Added together: 38 from the curve, before bonuses.
Your call
Points breakdown
- Your team scorePicked 75, final 78: 3 points off.
- +16
- Your rival scorePicked 70, final 71: 1 point off.
- +22
- Right winnerYou picked Your team, and Your team won.
- +10
- Beat the spreadYour team −4½. Your margin +5: Your team covers. Final margin +7: Your team covers.
- +10
- Margin lockYour margin +5 vs. final +7: 2 apart (5 or less earns it).
- +10
- Fight the BiasYou did not pick Your team to lose.
- 0
- Perfect gameNeither score exact.
- 0
- Rivalry gameApplied after all bonuses. Before multipliers: 68.
- 1.5×