Welcome to The Athletic’s mostly-for-bragging-rights guessing game for the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments! Party prop sheets are a staple at Super Bowl parties, and we are bringing that same spirit to the college basketball brackets. We have curated a party prop sheet that you can fill out directly to compete in The Athletic’s prop pool.
Advertisem*nt
We have 20 questions for the first weekend, which stretches from Thursday through Monday and includes the first and second rounds of both tournaments. We’ve got eight questions from the men’s tournament, eight from the women’s tournament and four combining the two. The questions range from Zach Edey blocks to Caitlin Clark points, upset predictions, conference supremacy and even a question about fashion. This is mostly intended for fun, but we will be running a contest every week of the tournaments, and the top five cumulative scores combined from our three contests during the tournaments will win a free one-year gift subscription to The Athletic (additional terms and conditions may apply).
You can fill out the form below to submit your entry, or if you want this for home use, we also have a PDF available that you can download, print out and distribute however you like.
(Note: Each correctly answered question is worth a point. We’ll provide updated answers after the conclusion of the first weekend of both tournaments, so final answers will come after Monday night. Be sure to check back to see how you did!)
We’re no longer accepting responses on the form, but we have updated the text below with answers.
WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT QUESTIONS
1. Will Caitlin Clark be the highest scorer in the first weekend?
YES or NO
Answer: No! Clark scored 59 points, but was not the leading scorer. UConn’s Paige Bueckers had her beat with 60 points.
2. Will a team from last year’s Final Four lose in the first weekend?
YES or NO
Answer: Yes! Virginia Tech lost in the second round.
3. How many rebounds will LSU’s Angel Reese have in the first weekend?
OVER 26.5 or UNDER 26.5
Answer: Over! Reese had 19 rebounds in the first round and 11 in the second for a total of 30.
4. What will the margin of victory be in South Carolina’s first-round game?
OVER 35.5 or UNDER 35.5
Answer: Over! The Gameco*cks won by 52. Ouch!
Advertisem*nt
5. How many teams will lose on their home floor during the first weekend?
OVER 2.5 or UNDER 2.5
Answer: Over! Ohio State, Kansas State and Virginia Tech lost at home.
6. How many combined points will USC freshman JuJu Watkins score in the first weekend?
OVER 54.5 or UNDER 54.5
Answer: Under! Watkins had 23 points in the first round and 28 in the second round for a total of 51.
7. What will be the lowest seed to win a Round of 64 game?
A. 16
B. 15
C. 14
D. 13
E. Other (12, 11, 10, 9, 8)
Answer: Under! The lowest seed to win in the first round was a No. 11 (Middle Tennessee State).
8. Will Iowa coach Lisa Bluder and assistant Jan Jensen wear matching outfits again during the tournament?
YES or NO
Answer: No! Not this year.
MEN’S TOURNAMENT QUESTIONS
1. Will there be any “perfect brackets” remaining on ESPN’s bracket game after the first weekend?
YES or NO
Answer: No! Not this year either.
2. Will a No. 1 seed lose in the Round of 64 or 32?
YES or NO
Answer: No! The last time all four No. 1 seeds made the Sweet 16 was 2019.
3. How many blocks will Purdue’s Zach Edey have in Purdue’s first game?
OVER 2.5 or UNDER 2.5
Answer: Over! Edey had three blocks.
4. How many points will Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht score in the first two rounds combined?
OVER 40.5 or UNDER 40.5
Answer: Over! Knecht had 23 points in the first round and 18 in the second for a total of 41. Close one!
5. Will a 12-seed beat a 5-seed?
YES or NO
Answer: Yes! James Madison beat Wisconsin.
6. How many teams will advance to the Sweet 16 from outside power conferences?
OVER 2.5 or UNDER 2.5
The ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC are considered “power” conferences.
Answer: Under! San Diego State and Gonzaga were the only ones to make it from outside power conferences.
7. What conference will have the most teams advance to the Sweet 16?
A. Big 12
B. Big East
C. Big Ten
D. SEC
E. Other
Answer: Other! The ACC had just five teams in the NCAA Tournament, and Virginia started in the First Four, but got four to the Sweet 16 (North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, NC State). The Big East was close with three teams (UConn, Creighton, Marquette)
Advertisem*nt
8. Will a First Four team advance to the Sweet 16?
YES or NO
Answer: No! Colorado won another game, but lost to Marquette in the second round.
COMBINED QUESTIONS
1. Will there be a game-winning buzzer-beater?
YES or NO
For this to count, there must be no time left after the shot goes in.
Answer: No!
2. How many double-digit seeds will advance to the Round of 32?
OVER 11.5 or UNDER 11.5
Last year, the answer was 10 (five on each side), but it was 13 in 2022 (seven men’s teams, six women’s teams) and 12 in 2021 (nine from the men, three from the women).
Answer: Under! Eight men’s teams pulled off the feat, but just one women’s team.
3. How many players will score more than 30 points in one game over the first two rounds?
OVER 4.5 or UNDER 4.5
Answer: Over! This may have been a bad line on our part. This went way over.
4. Who will score more total points in the first two rounds: Dyaisha Fair or Zach Edey?
Edey is the leading scorer in the men’s game at over 24 points per game. Syracuse’s Fair, currently fifth place in the all-time women’s Division I career scoring list, is averaging 22 points per game.
Answer: Edey! This was a good line. Edey had 53 points (3o in the first round, 23 in the second round). Fair had 52 points (32 in the first round, 20 in the second round).
TIEBREAKER
What will be the highest point total for a team in a game in the first weekend across the men’s and women’s tournaments?
Answer: 102, by Colorado in its first-round win against Florida.
Here’s the downloadable PDF. Below is the online form and the terms for winning a gift subscription. Good luck, everyone, and enjoy the game!
By filling out the form below and including your email and username, we’ll be able to send you your score once we have the final results from the first two rounds. We’ll share the top point-getters at certain points during our live coverage. The top five cumulative scores combined from our three contests during the tournaments will win a free one-year gift subscription to The Athletic (additional terms and conditions may apply). All entries must be submitted no later than 11:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, March 21.
Advertisem*nt
The information collected here is subject to the policies, terms and conditions set forth below. We will only use the information submitted for the purposes of this game and to share the results. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to editorial director Oskar Garcia at [emailprotected] (or @oskargarcia on Twitter). And you’re welcome to use our printable sheet if you would prefer to keep things analog. Enjoy the games!
You must be 18 or older and a legal resident of the 50 U.S. states or the District of Columbia. A purchase or a payment of any kind will not increase your chances of winning. Subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited. Limited to one entry per person. Employees of The Athletic Media Company (“The Athletic”), its parent and affiliate companies, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. Participation constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to these terms and The Athletic’s decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to this game. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.
Note: You can also fill out the survey directly at this link. Use two fingers to scroll on mobile devices, and remember that there are two scroll bars: one for the page and one for the embedded survey.
(Photos of Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark and Dalton Knecht: Eakin Howard / Getty Images and David Berding / Getty Images)
