Guess The Score rules

[jhawk73]

The 1st regular season KU basketball game is on November 6, so here are the rules for Guess The Score. These are identical to football this year and to basketball last year, There are some differences from earlier. For now this is "just for fun" - no prizes. I will try to post results as quickly as possible after a game but won't promise to do so immediately. Those messages will include both the results for that game and a season-to-date summary. So you can compare yourself with the "professionals", it will also include the Las Vegas betting line and Ken Pomeroy's computerized guess. So here goes:

SUBMITTING GUESSES: I will post a "Guess The Score" message well in advance of each game which will include the scheduled start time and TV information. Please post your guess in that message thread using the following format for your guesses:

KU 74
KSU 64

(Please put KU's score first, even if you are picking them to lose.)

- Lowest cumulative score after the season will be the "winner."

- Predictions must be made BEFORE the start of the game. Predictions submitted after tipoff will not count. The reference point will be either the scheduled start time or a "tipoff" message if someone posts one. The one I'll use is whichever is later. If you're even one minute late, it doesn't count. Sorry, you've been warned. (Note - if you know you are going to be out of touch and want to submit a guess before the GTS message for that game is up, please PM me and I'll take care of it. I have my spreadsheet for the entire season already set up so it's no big deal to record those.)

- IF YOU DECIDE TO CHANGE A PREDICTION PLEASE MAKE A NEW POST AND DON'T EDIT YOUR OLD ONE. The one that will be counted is the latest one, assuming it is posted before tipoff. That way I don't have to go back and recheck posts at the end to make sure someone hasn't edited something.

- NO excess commentary in the prediction. Just the score guess, nothing more. This is to make it simpler to record scores.


SCORING: The points you receive will be based on two factors: margin of victory and actual score. Margin of victory is weighted twice as much as the actual score. Absolute value of the difference is used. (NOTE - this is the same as in prior years)

Example:
--------
Predicted score:
KU 74
KSU 64

Actual:
KU 90
KSU 87

Margin of victory:
------------------
Predicted (74-64) = 10
Actual (90-87) = 3

Points = (10-3)*2 = 14

Actual Score:
-------------
KU (90-74) = 16
KSU (87-64) = 23

Again absolute value of the numbers are used so no negatives!

Total Score:
------------
14 + 16 + 23 = 53

The numbers are crunched in an Excel spreadsheet using formulas that have been tested over several seasons, so any mistakes that occur will be data entry mistakes on my part. THEY WILL HAPPEN, so please PM me if you think there's something wrong, and I'll take a look. THIS CONTEST IS LIKE GOLF - LOW SCORES ARE GOOD; HIGH SCORES ARE BAD.

Exceptions:
-----------
- If you incorrectly choose the winner of the game you will receive a score of 100.

- You will receive a score of -50 points for guessing the EXACT score for each team. Remember, low score = good.

- It is possible, especially in football, to pick the right winner but be so far off on the margin of victory that you get a score greater than 100. Since it doesn't seem fair to penalize a correct winner guess more than one that is wrong, the score for a correct winner guess will be capped at 100.

- Lastly, if you fail to submit a guess for any game (or if it is late), your score for that game is 100. In the past the penalty was 200; this was changed a year ago.

PM me with any questions.

-jhawk73


FYI for this purpose I figure the Las Vegas guess by splitting the over/under in half and then adding or subtracting half of the spread:

Winners score = over-under /2 plus spread/2
Losers score = over-under /2 minus spread/2

[Deleted User 75]

Lonestar need to be reminded about the no commentary rule apparently.