Signing Up
Registered Users may sign up any time by visiting the Thorntonsinc.com web site prior to the start of the Tournament on March 11, 2012. Participants will be asked to go to the URL www.thorntonsinc.com/bracket and follow the onscreen instructions (the "Onscreen Instructions") in order to enter. Onscreen Instructions are hereby incorporated in these Official Rules.
Selection Deadline
Brackets will be filled on March 12, 2012 and posted on-line under the "My Picks" link on the Sweepstakes site. Picks must be submitted by 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time on March 13, 2012. The Administrator may send a reminder e-mail on March 11, 2012 to participants who have signed up but haven't yet submitted picks.
Making Picks
After you sign up, you will have access to an on-line brackets page. Participants must enter their projected winners of all Tournament games. Beginning with round two, the predictions for each successive round will weigh more heavily than the previous round in accordance with the table below. Points will be awarded by multiplying your number of correct predictions of winning teams in each round of the Sweepstakes by the weight assigned to each applicable round. For example, you would receive five (5) points for five correct predictions of winning teams in round one, and ten (10) points for five correct predictions of winning teams in round two. You will receive an individual score for each of the six Tournament rounds; and an overall score, which is the combined total of your individual round scores.Tie Breaker
Participants will be required to guess the number of points scored by the championship game winner. In the event of a tie in the total number of Sweepstakes points earned by two or more participants, the Grand Prize will be awarded to the participant who most closely predicts the number of points scored by the championship game winner. If a tie still remains after evaluating the final game score predictions, the winner will be randomly drawn from the participants involved in the tie.| Round | 2 | 3 | Sweet 16 | Elite 8 | Final 4 | National Championship |
| Points per correct pick | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 32 |