65 Unique Ways to Build This Year's March Madness Bracket

1. Calm and collectedly allow sound logic and reason to trump emotion.

2. Always listen to your heart. Tom Petty says so.

3. Take the chalk, there's a reason the team has the better seed, right?

4. There's always upsets, gain an edge on the competition and pick upsets.

5. Compare team RPIs, not having a clue about the contributing factors.

6. Compare conference RPIs, better conference = battle tested?

7. Pit mascots against each other in a Royal Rumble-esque format.

8. Pit head coaches against each other and pray Kansas State makes a miracle run.

9. Examine late-season trends, although teams on hot streaks maddeningly disappoint bracketeers every March.

10. Examine non-conference and neutral floor games, sayonara home court advantage.

11. Flip a coin, leaving your fate to fate.

12. Compare alumni: celebrity, political, athletic, or otherwise.

13. Compare past NBA draft picks, grasping straws... Unfortunately for Pittsburgh fans, Sam Young and Dejaun Blair have moved onto greener pastures.

14. Follow the school's recent postseason trends, sorry, Duke!

15. Follow the tournament's recent trends, top four seeds following serve, of late.

16. Follow the experts, they pay these people, right? Always ask to see a practiced professional's bracketology degree, prior to receiving counseling.

17. Fade the experts, President Obama fared better than most of the analysts last season.

18. Wait for a vision or sign to guide you, ala Kevin Costner or Joaquin Phoenix.

19. Take the more experienced squad. Tournament-tested, bracket approved.

20. Take the more balanced team. Sorry, Villanova, find a post presence.

21. Pick the team with the best guard play. Villanova, I love you.

22. Pick the team with hottest cheerleaders. UCLA is going to dominate the NIT.

23. Look at each school's travel time and distance. Location, location, location.

24. Choose by regional affiliation. Especially common amongst East Coasters who have yet to watch a Pac 10 game, this season.

25. On Selection Sunday, lock yourself in an empty room to avoid all sources of external influence. Fill out the bracket as quickly as possible, whatever happens, happens.

26. Change picks with every meal, at the expense of your digestive tract.

27. Research all week and fill out the bracket sheet on Thursday morning. Research equals confidence, confidence breeds results, until Thursday's first tip-off.

28. Take the team with the best player, otherwise known as "Superstar Syndrome."

29. Let your child cast the deciding vote. Kids do incredible things these days. Look at those E-Trade babies.

30. Mark two separate litter boxes. Let the cat handle your business.

31. Let your wife cast the deciding vote. You have never felt so desperate.

32. Choose by logo design and wonder how Siena possibly won a tournament game last year.

33. Choose by team colors and avoid looking in mirrors or reflective surfaces until the tourney concludes.

34. Listen to each school's fight song. Music is your vehicle, baby.

35. Compare defensive efficiency. Defense wins championships, right? Northern Iowa allows 54 points per game, while Louisville gives up nearly 70 points per contest.

36. Compare records versus top 25 opponents. Lightning strikes thrice, Tennessee?

37. Select the school with the stronger academic reputation, for no apparent reason.

38. Select the bigger party school, "We're going streaking!"

39. Pick the coach with the better Big Dance track record. Send my regards to Steve Alford, Oliver Purnell, and Bob Huggins.

40. Use the "eye test." Seeing the teams firsthand should help, right?

41. Use the "mouth test." Pronounce each school's name until one emerges superior.

42. Examine team depth and bench contributors. Missouri's bench accounts for 39.2% of the team's minutes, while Ohio State's bench averages 18.1%.

43. Compare starting fives, likely putting your faith in the favorites.

44. Refuse to pick upsets until the Sweet Sixteen.

45. Pick as many potential upsets as possible, bragging when one of out twelve successfully hits.

46. Grab a handful of darts, you know what to do with them.

47. Attempt to will dream player and coaching match-ups with your picks.

48. Follow Vegas' lined favorites in the first round.

49. Follow money movement trends in the first round.

50. Avoid turnover-prone teams (Florida State), poor free-throw (Texas) or three-point shooting squads (Washington), or maddeningly inconsistent defenses (Louisville), in an effort to avoid the remote control through the new high-definition TV episode from last March.

51. Pick at least one No. 12 seed versus a No. 5 seed.

52. Pick all four one seeds to reach at least the Sweet Sixteen.

53. Fill out your "locks" first and take your time with the rest.

54. Follow recent conference trends in the Final Four. Sorry, Big 10.

55. Match risk with reward depending on number of participants, monetary investment, and pool demorgraphics.
You should probably exercise greater risk on ESPN.com than the family pool.

56. Fill out enough brackets so one will make you look like a genius. Pitiful.

57. Fill out one and only one bracket, incessantly ridiculing those who practice March Madness polygamy.

58. Lose yourself in the Ken-Pom stats, rankings, and projections.

59. Examine tournament seed trends. No. 9 seeds proving superior to No. 8 seeds.

60. Personal and family alma mater affiliation. Family ties, how touching.

61. Chemistry-rich teams Northern Iowa and Wisconsin trump dysfunctional Texas and Louisville.

62. Take the teams with future NBA talent. Kentucky, for the win...

63. Choose the karmic favorite. Cornell, Montana, and Oakland emerge as upset-minded teams of destiny.

64. Consult a crystal ball, magic eight ball, or fortune teller.

65. Consult a doctor or join a support group for your latest bout of bracket addiction. Look forward to meeting you!

References: All statistics and team results as reflected on KenPom.com.