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Can you win USA TODAY Sports' March Madness survivor pool games? Only one way to find out

richard morin, usa today
·3 min read

Completing a perfect March Madness bracket is a near-impossible challenge.

But how about picking just a small number of winners each round? Seems doable, right?

Compared to correctly predicting the fate of 68 teams through six rounds, the USA TODAY Sports' March Madness survivor pool games appear to be a much more accessible challenge.

Correctly pick the winners of a small number of games each round and you'll advance.

Last the longest without missing a pick and collect some serious cash. And you get two chances to win by competing in both the men's and women's survivor pools.

OK, there is a catch.

You can only pick a team once during the entire tournament. If you fail to make any or all picks in a round, you are eliminated. And, of course, each of your picks must be correct to advance to the next round.

These survivor pool games give USA TODAY readers a chance to win $2,500, the amount awarded to whoever lasts the longest in the men's and women's pools.

Here are some tips to get started:

Don't be fooled; it's a real challenge

USA TODAY Sports runs survivor pools for both March Madness and the NFL season. And if there's anything we know about those two spectacles it's that game outcomes can be unpredictable.

The game is more challenging than it seems at face value.

In addition to only being allowed to select a team once for the entire tournament, you can only advance by hitting on all your picks. But if two players hit all their picks, the player who correctly picked teams with cumulatively higher seeds will win.

For example, if Player 1 selected teams seeded 3-3-2 (total 8) and Player 2 selected teams seeded 4-5-6 (total 15), then Player 2 would be ahead in the tiebreaker standings.

It can be risky relying on teams with high seeds to help you survive — since those teams will typically be considered underdogs — but it could come in handy if you make it to the end.

Players will also make a different amount of picks each round, following the completion of the play-in games. Here is the breakdown:

  • Round of 64: Three picks

  • Round of 32: Two picks

  • Sweet 16: One pick

  • Elite Eight: One pick

  • Final Four: One pick

  • Championship: One pick

Beware of locking yourself out

If you survive long enough to compete in the Final Four, you might not even have a chance to make selections the rest of the way depending on the decisions you make during earlier rounds.

A potential scenario exists where you could be automatically eliminated in the Final Four or championship round if teams you already selected make up the remaining field, since you can't select the same team twice.

All the more reason for players to be strategic with their selections. Think the UConn men or South Carolina women are destined to win it all? Then don't select them in the first round because those picks will be unavailable to you later on. You'll want to focus on specific matchups and individual game advantages one team might have against another. So do your research!

How it works

Let's recap:

1. Join one or both survivor pools.

2. Survive the longest with the highest cumulative seed value and you could win a $2,500 cash prize per pool. (Must meet eligibility requirements)

Rules to remember: Correctly pick a select number of March Madness winners each round. If any of your picks lose, you're eliminated. If all your picks hit in a given round, you survive and earn points equal to those teams' cumulative seed value. You can only select each team once for the entire tournament. If you fail to make any or all of your picks in a given round, you're eliminated.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to play USA TODAY Sports' March Madness survivor pool games