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If you just want a printable bracket, click here. Otherwise keep reading for the NIT Pickem contest.
The NIT is upon us. And with it comes another bracket to fill out. Filling out an NIT Bracket is fun. But filling it out in a large group is even better. And this is what I hope to accomplish here. Unfortunately I was not able to find a simple online solution for this, however I was able to find a solution that would only take around 5 minutes! Here is a step by step(with pictures!) process of how to fill out and submit a bracket with FWtCT. Note: read the instructions carefully in order to make this process easy for you and I. This may look complicated, but I am over explaining this to ensure there are 0 issues for the basic person using a computer. Also, this probably can be done on a mobile phone, but these instructions are for a desktop computer.
First: click this link in order to access the google sheet I created which contains the bracket I edited for the NIT.
Next on the upper left hand corner, click file and then click download. Under download you can save it for either Microsoft Excel or Open Office.
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If you have Excel or Open Office, skip the next few steps until you see the % icon. Otherwise we will be opening this file with Google Sheets.
In order to open this file you need a Google Account. Once you are logged in, click this link to get to Google Sheets. Once on google sheets, click the folder icon to open the menu to upload my file:
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Once uploaded, you are now ready to edit.
% Important- Do not edit anything but your projected winners. Editing the First Round Teams is a No No and will result in automatically disqualifying your bracket.
You have two ways of filling out the bracket, no matter where you fill it out, each application has a simple drop down menu that allows you to easily select the winner as shown below:
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As shown in excel: note you must click the cell for the icon to appear
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The second option, is to simply type the team. I noticed an issue in excel where the two teams would get too far apart in the Semifinals and Championship Game when using the drop down. So it might be best just to type those rather than dropping it down if you will. Note: your bracket will automatically be disqualified if you pick a team to win a game when you have picked them to lose in a previous round. Example: picking LSU to win the Championship when you picked them to lose in the first round.
Once you have picked all of your teams, save your file as is. You do not have to save it in a special format, but do not save it in an unreadable format otherwise I will not be able to read it.
Now you are ready to send the file via email to me.
When composing an email, make sure the following words are in your subject:
NIT Bracket
Next make sure to add your SB Nation username, Twitter username, anything you would like your bracket to be called in the body. Remember the only prize here is internet cred so make sure you add something to get instant internet fame. And finally I will show you on gmail(you do not need gmail, use your current email address) what to click to attach the file:
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And then bam. You are all set.
One final thing to note is that these need to be submitted by Tuesday March 13th at 5:45 Central Time.
This should be a fun contest. I cannot wait to see who wins. And FYI here is the Point system:
First Round Winner: 2 Points
Second Round Winner: 4 Points
Quarterfinals Winner: 8 Points
Semifinals Winner: 16 Points
Finals Winner: 32 Points
The winner will be announced after the Championship Game. And while many of you will fail, one of you will get the ultimate prize of internet cred. And that my friends, is the true meaning of life.