March Madness Bracket Tips

It's that time of year, it is March Madness time. That means it is time for the NCAA 65-team Men's College Basketball Tournament. Along with March Madness comes bracket fever. That is because offices and groups around the country will be running March Madness bracket contests. These are where you try to pick the winners of as many games as you can and earn as many points to win the pool. As someone who has participated in these March Madness bracket pools for over 15 years I have some tips for you. These tips will give you a great chance to have a shot at winning your office or group's March Madness basketball bracket tournament as the number of teams reduce to the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4, and NCAA Champion.

1. Don't Go Wild On Early Round Upsets- Most March Madness college basketball brackets have picking the winning teams in round one worth one point each and the point value for each correct pick increases in later rounds. This means you want to try to play it safe in the early rounds. You don't want to risk picking against a team you think others will pick to win three or four games in the first round. It is best to take all your number one and number two seeds into the sweet sixteen round to remain in contention. You should advance all your number three and four seeds into the second round and at least 6 out of those eight into the Sweet Sixteen. The reason you do this is these teams are most likely to advance, and they give you opportunities to play different combinations in later rounds.

2. Enter Multiple Bracket Sheets In One Pool- Here is where you take advantage of moving all those favorites into the Sweet 16, now you can start playing combinations. I strongly suggest entering between three and five sheets in one pool. Once you reach the Sweet Sixteen round on your March Madness Bracket I would strongly suggest carrying all your number one seeds into the Elite 8 in your March Madness Bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament, and at least two of your number two seeds. Now start entering different combinations among the remaining empty slots on your brackets. This way if you did well with the favorites in the first two rounds you will have an 80% chance at getting winners into the Elite 8 round of March Madness.

3. The Elite Eight Is The Key- Now once you are into the Elite 8 round for your March Madness Bracket you can start picking some upsets in your NCAA brackets. I would strongly suggest taking most of the favorites on each sheet and adding in between two to four upsets on each sheet. The key here is to make sure you vary your combinations so you are still in the running as the tournament enters the Final 4 and Championship Games.

4. Final Four- Huge key here, take a different winner on each of your brackets. This increases your chances of being in the running when the tournament enters that final weekend of March Madness. Keep in mind that if there is a total long shot that wins the tournament, chances are nobody picked them to win. That means every sheet you have with a different winner is probably still in the running for the bracket championship to win you money. If you enter three brackets, take the three favorites in the tournament. When choosing a March Madness winner, you should pick a number one or two seed as they win the large majority of the time. It's safer to avoid the "hot upset picks".

These tips will not guarentee you that you will win your March Madness bracket. What they will do is give you your best chance to be in the running for the March Madness Bracket championship as the Final Four weekend arrives. Keep in mind that really all you want is a chance. This gives you your chance to win that money, putting your eggs in the basket of "hot upset picks" usually will have you knocked out of contention after the Elite 8. Good luck, and enjoy the March Madness.