Filling out March Madness brackets is a staple of college basketball tournaments every spring. But that's not the only way fans can compete against each other to prove who knows which teams will go the furthest. Fans can also get in on the action with the March Madness Men's Tournament Run, a game that lets you continue to play throughout the men's competition — and long after brackets have been busted.
What is March Madness Men's Tournament Run?
Tournament Run is a game where fans draft lineups of teams that accrue points throughout the competition if they win games. The entry with the most total points at the end wins. Players will also get the chance to swap teams in their lineup throughout the tournament. You can create up to 10 different lineups per account.
But players can't just pick the best teams. There is a 1,000-point budget to build an initial five-team lineup, and every team in the tournament field will be assigned a point value based on their seeding on Selection Sunday. The better the seed, the higher the point value. For example: A No. 1 seed in the tournament will cost significantly more to add to a lineup than a No. 10 seed. Your picks do not affect any other player — if you pick Kansas, it won’t stop any other player from picking the Jayhawks as well. And after an initial requirement of five teams for the first round, there is no requirement for the number of teams in your lineup. That means you can load up on a select few for later rounds.
Teams lock for trading once their game tips off, and winning teams earn more points based on whom they play. The harder the matchup, the more points a team will accrue for a round. If a team loses, they don't earn any points and can't earn any more for the rest of the tournament.
Players can buy or sell teams after every round if they want. So if a player has a team that outperformed expectations, they can sell that team for more points and buy a team that could go deeper in the tournament. But don't be afraid to hold on to teams. If you hold on to a winning team for more than one round, you’ll pick up Loyalty Points — 10 percent of that team’s value that is added directly to your Point Bank.
Whichever player has the most total points after the championship game wins. You can also click or tap here for a deeper dive into how the game works. You can also watch the video below:
Where do I play Tournament Run?
You can sign up by clicking or tapping here.
Tournament Run strategy
There are many different ways to play the game and pick your initial lineup, each one with different pros and cons based on each round. It all depends on how risky or not a player wants to be throughout the game. Here are a few strategies:
Strategy 1: Pay up for the best teams early
This is a costly move, but it gets you in on the ground floor of the tournament favorites. These teams won't accrue as many points early on because of easier matchups, though. The biggest advantage of this move is the loyalty points you'll make by keeping these teams for longer. The biggest hazard is if a favorite gets upset early.
Strategy 2: Grab teams with upset potential early and sell if they win
If you want a high-risk but high-reward move, buy the teams who could earn a lot of points in early round upsets. This is the fastest way to accrue a lot of points, especially if you pick the right team that beats the right opponent. The benefit here is that once you earn a lot of points with big upsets, you can sell those teams for some other ones that will help you later in the tournament. The worry here is that if you pick the wrong teams early, you burned some points and may not have enough to buy more stable teams later on.
Strategy 3: Diversify!
Much like with picking a good bracket, you may want to mix and match your Tournament Run lineup with some favorites and some underdogs. This allows you to potentially snag some easy points early with the best teams while also earning some points through upset picks. If you buy a Cinderella team early, you'll also have the best shot at loyalty points. This strategy can also insulate you from leaning too heavily one way or the other.
Important dates and information
- What can I sign-up? You can sign-up for Tournament Run anytime between now and the end of the tournament. Even if you miss the start of the tournament, you can draft your initial lineup at any point — though the later you wait, the more expensive teams will be.
- When are the teams/points announced? The teams that made the tournament, the bracket and the points associated with each team will be unveiled on Selection Sunday — March 17.
- When can I buy/sell teams? You can trade a team at any point until their game tips off for that round. Once a team's game is underway, they are locked for the rest of the round, and cannot be bought or sold. They will unlock as soon as the current round is over.
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29
- Elite Eight: March 30-31
- Final Four: Saturday, April 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
- NCAA championship game: Monday, April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
