If you've ever played Super Bowl Squares, you already know how basketball squares work — it's the exact same game. Same grid, same rules, same fun. The only difference? You're watching hoops instead of football.
March Madness gives you 60+ games over three weeks, which means more chances to play, more winners, and way more excitement. Whether you're running an office pool, a school fundraiser, or just something fun with friends, basketball squares are the perfect way to get everyone involved — no bracket expertise required.
What Are Basketball Squares?
It's the same 10x10 grid you already know from football. One team gets assigned to the columns, the other to the rows. Players claim squares on the board, and once it's full, numbers 0–9 are randomly assigned to each row and column.
Every square now maps to a unique pair of last digits in the score. When the game hits a checkpoint — halftime or the final buzzer — you check the last digit of each team's score to find the winning square. That's it. No strategy, no skill — just pure luck and a whole lot of fun.
How Scoring Works
Finding the winner is simple: take the last digit of each team's score and find where they intersect on the grid.
Example
Duke 87 — UNC 84
Duke's last digit is 7. UNC's last digit is 4. The square at column 7 and row 4 wins.
Men's basketball is played in two halves, so most pools pay out at halftime and the final score — giving you two winners per game.
Payout Ideas
You have full control over how the pot gets divided. Here are a few popular setups:
Halftime + Final
- Halftime winner: 30%
- Final score winner: 70%
Fundraiser
- Charity/org: 50%
- Winners split: 50%
Ways to Play During March Madness
The beauty of the NCAA tournament is that there are games almost every day for three straight weeks. That gives you tons of flexibility in how you set things up:
- Pick a game of the day — choose one marquee matchup and run a fresh grid for it. Great for keeping things simple and building daily excitement.
- One grid per round — use the same grid across all games in a round (Round of 64, Sweet 16, etc.) and pay out a winner for each game played.
- Final Four weekend — run a grid across all 3 Final Four games (both semifinals and the championship). Three games, one grid, six chances to win.
- Championship game only — run one big grid for the title game. Higher stakes, bigger pot, maximum hype.
The best part? Even when everyone's bracket is busted after the first weekend, basketball squares keep the entire group engaged all the way through the Final Four.
Ready to Start Your March Madness Pool?
Set up your grid in minutes, share a link with your group, and let the tournament do the rest. Numbers get randomized with one click — no paper grids, no spreadsheets, no hassle.