The NCAA basketball tournament begins this week, marking the 44th year of our annual “Steps to the Championship” basketball contest.
This should be a great contest. Once again we have “one of our own” in the contest as Salem High School graduate Mark Byington has his Vanderbilt University team in the East Region, opening against St. Mary’s on Friday in Cleveland. Byington, as you may recall, was an all-state player on the ‘94 Salem High state championship team and his Commodores come into the tournament at 20-12.
Unfortunately Virginia, Virginia Tech, Richmond, James Madison and George Mason did not make it this year. Representing Virginia will be VCU, the 11th seed in the East, Liberty University, the 12th seed in the East, and Norfolk State is a 16th seed in the West.
The bracket for the NCAA Division I men’s bas-ketball championship is on the facing page, and first prize is a $50 gift certificate from Mac & Bob’s res-taurant and a year’s subscription to the Salem Times-Register.
The rules of the contest are simple. Simply fill in the brackets, right down to the championship winner. The person who fills in the most blanks correctly when the NCAA championship is decided on April 7th in San Antonio will be the winner.
The tie-breaker, if needed, is as follows. If two contestants are tied for the top spot, the winner is the contestant whose pick to win the championship has advanced farther. If it’s still tied, then whoever had the most correct in the “Final Four” will win. If still tied, we go to the Final Eight, Final 16, etc.
Your completed entry form must be in our office by 5 pm this Friday. So, realize you get the Thursday games for free if you play your cards right. However, don’t try to slip your entry in after the deadline on Friday because we’ll be watching, and you’ll be dis-qualified. The office closes early on Friday but you can slip your entry through the mail slot next to the front door.
You can also mail your entry, but it must be post-marked by 5 pm Friday. Send it to, “Steps to the Championship,” Salem Times-Register Sports, P.O. Box 1125, Salem, VA 24153.
Please note all entries must be on the official ballot, cut out of a Salem Times-Register newspaper.
