Last year’s College Basketball Survivor game was a wonderful success. Over 240 competitors began the game in mid-November and after 16 weeks of the regular season, we were left with only three players. When Brian Joyce (@bjoyce_hoops) won with his selection of Iowa State on the final week of the season, he became the proud recipient of the title First Annual RTC #cbbsurvivor. Let’s do it again.

The form that you will need for Week One is located here, and the rules are below:

Try Finding a Non-NFL Survivor Pool Image

Pick two teams that you think will go unbeaten during the first week-plus of the regular season (Friday Nov. 13 – Sunday Nov. 22). The deadline for entries in Week One is 3:00 PM ET on Friday. You cannot choose teams that you have already chosen in previous weeks, and it is your responsibility to know which teams you’ve already used. Your pool of available teams are the 65 schools from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

• UNBEATEN WEEK. If both your teams go unbeaten, you advance to next week (note: both teams MUST play at least one game).
• SPLIT WEEK. If your teams split (one goes unbeaten; one loses), you use a strike and advance to next week.
• ELIMINATION WEEK. If both your teams lose a game (or more than one game), you are eliminated.

If you attempt to use the same team twice in a season, or you choose a team that doesn’t play that week, or you miss a weekly deadline, you are eliminated.

You’re allowed three strikes during the season. A fourth strike eliminates you.

One entry per person, please. Deadline for Week One is 3:00 PM ET Friday 11/13. No exceptions!

The last #cbbsurvivor standing will win two tickets to the 2015 NCAA regional of his choice. Second and third place will receive RTC t-shirts. Good luck!

Not much in the way of college hoops this week, so all the more reason to spend some quality time with your friends, families and loved ones (we’re looking at you, Fido). Here’s hoping that everyone has a safe and happy holiday. Merry Christmas from your friends at Rush the Court!

Every fall we were more than a little envious of all the NFL fans who could join the various survivor pools floating around. Perhaps it was the simplicity of it that was attractive; maybe the all-or-nothingness. Regardless of the reason, we always quietly wished that we could come up with something equally fun and compelling to engage fans throughout the season in college basketball. That time is now. We’re not sure exactly how this will turn out, but we’ve developed the framework of what we think is a workable #cbbsurvivor game. The form that you will need for Week One is located here, and the rules are below:

Try Finding a Non-NFL Survivor Pool Image

Pick two teams that you think will go unbeaten next week (Monday Nov. 17 – Sunday Nov. 23). The deadline for entries in Week One is 6:00 PM ET on Monday. You cannot choose teams that you have already chosen in previous weeks, and it is your responsibility to know which teams you’ve already used. Your pool of available teams are the 65 schools from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

• If both your teams go unbeaten, you advance to next week (note: both teams MUST play at least one game).
• If your teams split (one unbeaten; one loses), you use a strike and advance to next week. You’re allowed three strikes during the season. A fourth strike eliminates you.
• If both your teams lose at least one game, you are eliminated.
• If you attempt to use the same team twice in a season or if you miss a weekly deadline, you are eliminated.

The last #cbbsurvivor standing will win two tickets to the 2015 NCAA Regional of his choice. Second and third place will receive RTC t-shirts. One entry per person, please.

Good luck!

Welcome to the sixth annual RTC 2013 Bracket Nonsense. Last year we were on the Road to New Orleans with a Pistol Pete Maravich jersey as our grand prize. The year before that we went with a Clyde the Glide Houston Cougars jersey. Prior to that it was a Hickory High School (Indiana) jacket. You get the point. We love our nostalgia and celebration of the game through retro gear. Luckily, this year we happen to have partnered up with the company that without question is making the coolest retro college basketball shorts, jerseys and other items within the industry — Retro College Cuts, “where old school meets new school.” Between the prizes RCC is supplying along with our own swag, there’s no excuse for not playing this year! Here’s what you need to know:

• Group Name: RTC 2013 Bracket Nonsense
• Group #: 66079

We’ll have three different prize levels this year — one for each weekend — and they’re all pretty awesome.

Lots of Great Prizes Available This Year – PLAY TO WIN!

• First Weekend Prizes: The player who gets the most points during the Second and Third Rounds will win a free t-shirt of their choice from RCC (for what it’s worth, the Philly Big 5 one is phenomenal). Additionally, to celebrate the 1977 Final Four played at the Omni in Atlanta and won by Marquette, RTC will also throw in a really neat authentic souvenir Media Pin that was given out at that year’s event (above left). Big Al would be proud.
• Second Weekend Prizes: The player who picks the most correct games during the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds (using the second weekend results only) will win a free pair of retro game shorts from RCC. Plus, to celebrate the 2007 Final Four played at the Georgia Dome and won by Florida, RTC will throw in an autographed championship photo of Gator MOPs Joakim Noah (2006) and Corey Brewer (2007) (above center).
• Grand Prizes. The player who wins RTC 2013 Bracket Nonsense with the most total points after the Championship Game will win a version of the 1990 Lethal Weapon 3 Georgia Tech throwback shorts from RCC (to honor the ATL, of course), as well as an additional free pair of retro game shorts and a t-shirt of their choice. To remember the 2002 Final Four, also played at the Georgia Dome and won by Maryland, RTC will give away a commemorative basketball signed by former head coach Gary Williams (above right). The runner-up this year will also receive a free pair of shorts and a t-shirt from Retro College Cuts.

Kenny Anderson’s Retro Shorts Will Be Yours For Winning RTC 2013 Bracket Nonsense

There you have it. Some great prizes are on the line this year, and you can win something each of the next three weeks. Don’t forget to sign up before Noon ET on Thursday! Happy March Madness!

Yeah, we know we’re recycling old images but this is a good one and the sentiment is the same. We want to wish everyone  reading Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas. Enjoy your families, gifts and all the trappings that go along with the season — it’s truly a special time of year.

This post is sponsored by Allstate. The opinions expressed herein are strictly those of Rush the Court.

RTC is pleased to announce that RTC will be teaming up with Allstate on the eve of the Final Four to host a Google+ Hangout with former NC State star Dereck Whittenburg. For those of you who weren’t alive in 1983 or were too young to remember the Wolfpack guard, it was his, ahem, pass to Lorenzo Charles that gave NC State its last national championship. March is mayhem every year, but the quality of last weekend’s regional games suggests that we’re in for a ridiculously fun Final Four weekend featuring four of the biggest names in the history of the sport.

Dereck Whittenburg is a Key Member of March Mayhem History

Whittenburg personal mayhem in the form of his assist to teammate Charles is why he is a member of Allstate’s Team Mayhem, which includes James Worthy, Miles Simon, Joey Rodriguez, and broadcasters Dick Vitale and Bill Raftery. We’re asking our readers to submit questions to Whittenburg through Twitter (@rushthecourt – use hashtag #askDereck), or through our comments section below. If your question is a good one, you’ll be invited to chat live via webcam with Dereck Friday evening in the Google+ Hangout. It’ll be a great time to talk hoops history and future, so make sure to send us your questions!

RTC is pleased to announce a contest for this year’s NCAA Tournament that will result in one lucky winner receiving a 32″ Toshiba HDTV with 1080p and 3D capabilities. The MSRP on this thing is just under a cool grand ($949.99), but for the person who nails this week’s contest (or comes closest), he or she will get it shipped directly to their door for free. Enough about that — how do you win? The contest specs are below.

There are four steps to this contest, but they’re really easy and will only take you one minute or less to complete.

1. To become eligible, you MUST LIKE our Facebook fan page. Only entrants who have liked our page by Thursday 3/15 at Noon ET will be eligible to win the TV.
2. On the Facebook fan page on the timeline post announcing the contest, list your choices for the SIX LOWEST SEEDED TEAMS TO WIN A SECOND ROUND (THURS/FRI) GAME. A high seed is, for example, a #1 seed; a low seed is, for example, a #16 seed. ONLY list your six lowest-seeded picks — no more, no less.
3. As a tiebreaker, also list your choice for the TOTAL NUMBER OF SECOND ROUND (THURS/FRI) UPSETS. An upset is defined as a lower seed beating a higher seed (even in a #8/#9 game).
4. Once you’ve finished entering your selections, please SHARE your picks with your Facebook friends to spread the word.

DEADLINE: Noon ET, Thursday March 15. One entry per person. No exceptions.

That’s it. The The rest is up to how the ball bounces on Thursday and Friday — a BIG thank you to Toshiba for providing this prize, and GOOD LUCK!!!

Ain’t no party like a Twitter party, or so the kids say these days.

Later this afternoon, from 3-4 PM ET, Microsoft search engine Bing has invited RTC to take part in its March Madness Twitter party. We’ve never been a part of one of these events, but it seemed like an interesting way to spend an hour ‘chatting’ about college hoops heading into the best three weeks of the year, so we’re on board.

Join Us at 3 PM Eastern Time This Afternoon

To participate, follow @Bing and @rushthecourt and tweet out your questions and commentary with the hashtag #BingIt. As an added bonus, Bing will be giving away a fifty dollar gift card to two lucky winners. We hope to enjoy some great conversation this afternoon — see you there!