PickHoops Press Package

PickHoops QuickFact

In sixteen years, the first-round game between the #8 and #9 seeded teams has been split almost evenly (33-31). PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, no #15 or #16 seeds have made it to the round of 16. PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, three schools have advanced to the round of 16 at least 10 times (Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas). PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, UNC has 6 appearances in the national semifinals. PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, only one team seeded lower than #5 has reached the national championship game (#8 Butler in 2011). PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, UCLA has 3 appearances in the national semifinals. PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, 55 #1 seeds have made it to the round of 16, an average of more than 3 per year. PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, eleven #12 seeds have advanced to the round of 16. PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, three schools have advanced to the round of 16 at least 10 times (Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas). PickHoops QuickFact

In sixteen years, the Big East has had seven different schools advance to the national semifinals (Connecticut, West Virginia, Villanova, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, and Syracuse). PickHoops QuickFact

In sixteen years, Kentucky has made the round of 16 ten times. PickHoops QuickFact

In sixteen years, one #4 seed team has won the championship (Arizona in 1997). PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, no champion has been lower than a #4 seed. PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, UCLA has 3 appearances in the national semifinals. PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, three schools have advanced to the round of 16 at least 10 times (Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas). PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, the national semifinals have featured four #1 seeds only once, in 2008. PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, the lowest seeds to advance to the national semifinals were George Mason University (2006) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011), both #11 seeds from the Colonial Athletic Association. PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, three schools have advanced to the round of 16 at least 10 times (Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas). PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, no #15 or #16 seeds have made it to the round of 16. PickHoops QuickFact

During PickHoops history, the SEC has four champions (Kentucky twice and Florida twice). PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops started, more #13 seeds (3) have advanced to the round of 16 than #9 seeds (2). PickHoops QuickFact

Since 1996, the most common number of #1 seeds in the national semifinals is 2 (six times) and 1 (five times). PickHoops QuickFact

In sixteen years, no #15 or #16 seeds have made it to the round of 16. PickHoops QuickFact

Since PickHoops was founded, the Pac 10 has had three different schools advance to the national semifinals (UCLA, Arizona, and Stanford). PickHoops QuickFact

In sixteen years, Connecticut has 4 appearances in the national semifinals.

PickHoops Press Package

PickHoops is a small company based in Durham, NC, that manages national college basketball tournament bracket contests at http://2011.pickhoops.com/ .

PickHoops started in 1996 when a bunch of computer geeks got tired of scoring their brackets by hand and applied web technologies, then brand new, to solve the problem. The first year PickHoops handled less than 40 brackets; the 2006 version handled tens of thousands across many hundreds of office groups and promotional contests.

Web surfers can sign up for a 50-bracket pool for $9.95, and invite their friends to play for no additional charge. PickHoops also handles larger pools ideal for corporate promotions, such as radio stations, that handle 500 brackets or more.

It takes longer to score a typical pool by hand over the entire 6-round tournament than to actually play a game of college basketball.

PickHoops competes in a crowded field dominated by large media, web, and sports companies. PickHoops distinguishes itself by allowing more customization of scoring systems and tiebreakers and exclusive features like the Quick Pick. The PickHoops Quick Pick lets the computer fill out a bracket with randomly selected teams. The advanced statistical algorithm takes into account past tournament results to pick only the likeliest upsets. Recently a Quick Pick finished first in a pool of more than 30 "real" players.

Another innovative PickHoops feature is the Basketball IQ score. PickHoops asks each user to describe their own level of basketball knowledge on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is "none" and 5 is "all-knowing", and then compares their own rating with their actual results.

PickHoops also distinguishes itself from larger companies by offering pages with no advertising, no spam, and by not selling its users' data to marketing companies.

Office pool gambling is illegal in many states, although enforcement is unevenly applied. PickHoops was originally created for "teambuilding" within a corporation, as a means to bring its employees together with a fun activity. PickHoops does not include features that specifically cater to gambling, and is designed for amusement only.

PickHoops was founded by Chris Hehman (pronounced Hay-men), a graduate of Virigina Tech who doesn't have any time to watch college basketball with the demands of running PickHoops.

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