It’s time to play Silver Sword 2017!

Hello, friends!

It’s that time of year again — the time of year when I use my role as editor of Mid Major Madness dot com to shill for a contest I created a few years back and encourage you to play along.

That’s right, it’s time for the 2017 edition of the Silver Sword.

If you’re never played before, the object is simple: pick as many winners of the Feast Week college basketball tournaments as you can.

You can enter here, or use the form embedded at the bottom of this post (if it shows up for you, depends on the device you’re using, blah blah blah).

Through my own begging and pleading, I have convinced the fine folks at 19nine.com to give the winner a pair of retro basketball shorts along with a site t-shirt. Give these shorts a look. Seriously. We have some mid-major legends in here: Evansville, Loyola Marymount, Indiana State, UNLV, and even St. John’s!

(Please note the Silver Sword is a contest I began running before I joined Mid-Major Madness and is not in any way affiliated with the site, SB Nation, Vox Media, or Deadspin, who is reading our emails)

SCORING:

If you played last year or the year before, you’ll notice scoring is a little different this time around. For one thing, you’re only picking winners. No points for second place! Also, you will notice point values next to each team. That is the number of points you will receive if you pick that team and it wins the tournament. Teams are ranked based on where they fell in preseason KenPom rankings (flaws and all) compared to the rest of the field.

For example, you can pick Villanova to win Atlantis, but if you’re right, you only get 1 point. Want to be bold and take NC State? Cool, you get 6 points if you’re right. But remember: if you’re wrong, you get nothing.

SPREAD THE WORD!:

Tell your friends about Silver Sword! Last year, we had over 400 entries. Let’s top 500 this year! Use #SilverSword2017 on social media, share the link with your friends, and make your family play for Thanksgiving bragging rights!

The deadline for entry will be at 11 a.m. ET on Nov. 16.