Thursday, March 30, 2006

Here's a look at the tournament results to date:

- Round 1: 22 underdogs in 32 games covered. 68.75%

- Round 2: 10 of 16 underdogs covered. 62.50%

- Round 3: 5 of 8 underdogs covered. 62.50%

- Elite 8: All 4 underdogs won and covered: 100%

- Total: 41 underdogs in 60 games have covered. 68.3%

Since PicksPal.com members did not need to pick all of the games before the tournament started, they have adjusted their picks and gone with the underdogs. They were not surprised this past weekend as a large percentage of PicksPal.com members picked the underdogs (with the points) in three of the four Elite 8 games: LSU (67%); UCLA (59%); George Mason (55%).

"In any sport, if anything is trending more than 55 % in any direction it is a true anomaly and Las Vegas is the beneficiary," said Tony Karpinski, Director of Odds for PicksPal.com. "Many of our game players noticed this trend early and have been riding the wave of underdogs to tremendous success in the PicksPal.com Hoops 1001 bracket game."

At PicksPal.com, fans don't just pick the winners: they can accumulate additional points by picking against the point spread , over/under, and thousands of fun props and exotic picks. Members can select from up to a dozen prop picks for each game. The Hoops 1001 Contest also features live in-game picks that add an interactive element never experienced in the history of tournament brackets , as well as special picks for the second half based on first-half action.

Rather than attempting to pick every winning team from the beginning of the tournament, PicksPal.com gives players 5,000 points at the start of each round. Fans can also join the Hoops 1001 Contest after they are eliminated from their traditional bracket game. The member with the most points at the end of each round wins an iPod, while the overall champion is awarded a 42-inch flat panel HDTV.