General Rules of Bracketeering

Whether you are male or female, young or old, spend hours picking your brackets or chose your teams by who would win a fight between the mascots, anyone can fill out a bracket and have a chance to win following these 10 simple rules of bracketeering.

1. Only once (in 2008) have all four number one seeds made the Final Four. So don't put all four no.1 seeds in the Final Four. But if the top four seeds all make it to the Final Four, and I mean if. Louisville would take on Connecticut and Pittsburgh would face North Carolina.

2. A 16 has never beaten a one. There is a reason why they are a 16 seed.

3. A 15 rarely beats a two. Don't pick this unless you feel lucky or your alma mater is playing.

4. A 14 or a 13 beats a three or four seed practically ever year. Take a shot with one of these, because if you get it right you are a genius or at least you can claim to be one.

5. A 12 will beat a five, maybe even two of them. Picking one maybe two might give you the upset you are looking for.

6. Six vs.11 games are the hard ones; because no. 6 seeds have been know to make deep runs. They usually have talent, but they are inconsistent. At least one 6 seed will make it to the Sweet Sixteen, while the other will lose in the opening round.

7. Seven vs.10 games and the 8-9 games are toss-ups. Never refer to a 9 beating an 8 an upset. It isn't an upset. They are the same caliber of team. The only people who call them an upsets are "experts" who are too chicken to pick an actual upset. A 10 over a 7 just barely qualifies for an upset.

8. At least one no. 1 seed will not make it to the Elite Eight, yet all the talking heads will be shocked when this happens.

9. At least one no. 2 seed will not make it to the Sweet Sixteen, yet again, everyone will be shocked when this happens.

10. At least 3 of the Final Four teams will be top 3 seeds in their regions, and a top 3 seed will win the National Championship.

Lastly find yourself a Cinderella and dance with her at the Sweet 16, take a 10 seed or a 12 seed to win their first two games because it makes the tourney that much more fun. Remember that teams that play defense tend to win more games. So especially look for defensive-minded teams. If your bracket is busted, don't let it ruin March Madness for you. March Madness is well -- madness.