It’s been an exciting year of women’s hoops at the college level, and at Winsidr, we wanted to join in on the fun. Rather than run an internal bracket that left all our smack talk in the Slack, we’ve decided to open it up. Whether you’re rooting for Stanford to go back-to-back, pulling for Aliyah Boston and the top-seeded Gamecocks to continue their regular season dominance, or just trying to get the longest possible looks at future WNBA draft picks, you’ve got an opportunity to win. Entry is totally FREE, and we’ve got some great prizes for the top competitors.
Think you know more about NCAAW than the Winsidr team? Here’s your chance to prove it!
Whether this is your first time filling out a bracket, or you’re a tourney vet, it’s easy to play! Here’s a quick refresher.
You can make your selections however you see fit: by ranking favorite players or school associations, by tabulating strength of record against conference difficulty, by rating cutest mascots, or a thousand other ways. All that matters is when the first jump ball is airborne, you’ve filled out a complete bracket.
We have created a pool over at ESPN. It’s private to our group, so you’ll need to fill in the group name and password, listed below:
Group name: The 2022 Winsidr Bracket
Password: draftlottery
As of Sunday night, the field is set, but it’s important to reiterate: the first game tips off this Friday, March 18, at 11:30 AM ET, so you need to have your picks in before then! As for how this all works, the rules are simple:
- You go through each matchup, one at a time, and click on the team you think will win. That little “i” icon gives you information about the matchup, such as record and stats. There are a few play-in games, so there won’t be info on those that look like (11) Dayton/(11) DePaul, since the field of 64 technically hasn’t been completely set yet. Don’t fret, though! Those qualifiers that get us from 68 to 64 teams are not a part of our pool, so they don’t affect when our picks lock.
- Upsets count as double, so be sure to pick some! Any time a higher seed beats a lower seed, you get twice as many points for that round (even a 9 over an 8).
- Each subsequent round doubles in points. For example, a win in the opening round gives you one point for a win, two for an upset. Round two awards two points for a win, four for an upset, and this continues to escalate all the way through to the championship game.
- You make ALL your picks at the beginning, not as you go. This includes a score tiebreaker for the title game. The brackets lock ahead of the first matchup on Friday.
While bragging rights hold their own currency—and you should absolutely let us have it on social media once you’ve got us beat—we wanted to award the top performers with some physical prizes. Thanks to our generous affiliates, we’ve got some really cool rewards for players that finish in the top five.
A couple of quick shoutouts to two companies that are helping to gear up our winners. Homage is an absolute must for W fans, with their retro WNBA tees (though the WNBA Jam shirts are a personal favorite). And, if you’ve been buying W gear for years, you likely already know about the gear over at BreakingT, which creates some of the most unique and personalized sports merch on the market.
Even if you don’t hit the reward tier, please support these companies that are out there raising the profile of the W with their hard work. By using the affiliate links below, you’re also helping us out at Winsidr.
Homage link: https://homa.ge/Winsidr
BreakingT Link: BreakingT.com/winsidr
Okay, on to the freebies:
First place: Any one item from the Winsidr Shop (including the hoodies or jackets), one tee from Homage, one tee from BreakingT, and a one-year subscription to our Winsidr Patreon
Second place: One tee from the Winsidr Shop, two tees from Homage, and a six-month subscription to our Winsidr Patreon
Third place: One tee from the Winsidr Shop, one tee from Homage, and a six-month subscription to our Winsidr Patreon
Fourth place: One mug from the Winsidr Shop, and a three-month subscription to our Winsidr Patreon
Fifth place: One mug from the Winsidr Shop and a three-month subscription to our Winsidr Patreon
So, pencil in your favorites, channel your Cinderellas, and secure some swag. Be sure to share your results across social media using the hashtag #WinsidrBracket, and keep the conversation going with all your Winsidr favorites. It’s time to march into the madness!