I’m going to run another Big East Tournament pool this year.  This time, the scoring system will have a twist because otherwise the format of the tournament doesn’t encourage risk taking (ie, you already know for sure one team playing in each 3rd round game).  As a result, here is the modified scoring system:

 1. Round 1: you will receive points equal to 50% of the winning team's seed if you get it correct. For example, if you choose Providence (and they win), you will get 7.5 points.

 2. Rounds 2-3: each time you get a game correct, you will receive points equal to that team's seed. For example, if you choose Depaul to win their 2nd and 3rd games (and they do), you get 32 total points for these two rounds (in addition to 8 points from round 1).

 3. Semifinals:  For each semifinal game you choose correct, you will get the greater of (i) the team's seed or (ii) 8 points.

 4. Final:  If you choose the winner correctly, you will receive 16 points.

I haven’t gotten this fully-approved by the powers-that-be that run this site, but I think it’s a pretty safe bet that they’ll let the winner write 1,000 words on any Big East or NCAA Tournament-related topic that they choose with an auto-bump to the front page.

 To submit your picks, respond below in chronological order using the Big East Tournament bracket here.  For example, if you were going to default to choosing the highest seeds, your submission would look like this:

1. USF
2. UConn
3. Seton Hall
4. Cincinnati
5. Georgetown
6. Marquette
7. Notre Dame
8. Louisville
9. Syracuse
10. Villanova
11. Pittsburgh
12. West Virginia
13. Syracuse
14. Pittsburgh
15. Syracuse

GOOD LUCK!