How Do You Fill Out An NCAA Tournament Bracket?
“March Madness,” the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, is one of the most watched sporting events of the year. Fans love the sense of drama and intrigue the tournament seems to produce every year, and they enjoy the feeling that a big-name school can falter and lose to a lowly “Cinderella” squad at any time. Filling out a tournament bracket that’s good enough to win your office pool requires expertise and a lot of luck. Avoid sixteen. As you survey your bracket and pick your first-round winners, remember that no sixteenth-seeded team has ever beaten a first-seeded team in the opening round since the current tournament format was adopted more than twenty years ago. Try to pick several upsets in the first round, but don’t pick any of the number sixteen seeds to advance. Remember the 5-12 oddity. For reasons that no one understands, a surprisingly high number of five seeds are upset by twelve seeds in the first round. Choose at least one number twelve seed to advance. Play a long shot. Mo
