A last-minute crash course in Bracketology

The greatest three days for a college basketball fan are the three days before the NCAA tournament starts. Three grueling days of intense pressure, tossing and turning at night wondering if you’ve made the right choices, getting behind at work and for some having to call in sick, all to have the team you picked to go all the way lose in the first round.

Every year, millions of college basketball fans, and some who know nothing about the game or teams, fill out brackets when Mach Madness rolls around.

It’s actually become part of our culture over the past several years as people seem to enjoy the camaraderie of testing their picking methods. You don’t have to be a gambler to enjoy March Madness, it’s all about the competition and excitement of seeing your pick make it all the way through the tournament. At the office or testing your bracket skills at home, it’s just fun.

From my past experience, picking a winning team is not an exact science. In fact some of the methods used are a little unorthodox and have nothing to do with the teams ability to play under pressure or how high of seed they may have gotten.

Methods for picking a winning team range from the basketball fanatic who goes over each and every statistic before marking his or her bracket, to team loyalty, or a pick based on the uniform color or who has the best team mascot.

Some make it a frustrating challenge, while others make it fun the way it should be.

Granted, my picking skills are at best average, but I have won a couple of March Madness pools thoughout the years. I have several tips you might want to consider before turning in your winning bracket.

First of all, look at the teams who are hot. A team on a hot streak is hard to beat, but I wouldn’t take a real low seed. If they won 10 of their last 10 then that might be a safe bet.

Remember no No.1 seed has ever lost in the opening round, so always pick them to make it through the first game. Yes, No. 1 teams are generally the teams that make it to the final four, but there are several good No. 3- and No. 4-seeded teams that might just make a run at it this year.

On the other side of the spectrum you have to pick at least one underdog. Remember third-seeded Syracuse in 2003 when they knocked off two top seeds and claimed the school’s first national title.

Teams who play close to home usually do pretty well. It’s hard to win if you’re Tennessee and you have to play UCLA out west. A very supportive fan base can be the difference in a close game. So look and see who’s playing where.

There’s always an upset brewing out there so look for a solid 10 seed to beat a No. 7 seed. Every year a 10 seed slips up on a few teams and they seem to do very well in the tournament, it’s finding the right one that could make or break your bracket.

Remember, on any given night any team can beat another team at this level. March Madness is all about who’s hot and who’s not.

When all else fells, do what I do sometimes. Find someone who claims to know everything about everything, especially those who consider themselves basketball genius. Ask them for help when marking your brackets and just pick the opposite of what they say.

The odds are you’ll do just as good or better than that basketball guru.

”

Reach sports writer Dale Stubblefield at [email protected]

more ncaa tourney coverage, 3- & 4-B