As March Madness takes effect, how does one exactly take action in filling out their own bracket?
Have you filled out your brackets for the NCAA tournament? Photo by Tori Wallace and Artwork by Ryan Woods
The amalgamation of college basketball and the beginning of Spring- the middle of March- brings about the ethereal feeling of filling out a bracket all the more.
For me, I have experienced past success and failure at the farthest ends of the spectrum over the last three years of seriously filling out a bracket. Three years ago, I picked Duke to win the National Championship-and they did-but it was the only Final Four team I got right. Two years ago, I picked Louisville to take the cake, and they found a way to lose on the first day to Morehead State. Last year, my greatest success, I had three of the Final Four teams correct and picked the National Champion correctly in Kentucky (but who didn’t? Am I right?). Yet, with over 9 quintillion possible combinations to fill out a bracket, where does one even start?
The first step is to go round by round in chronological order. Never decide your National Champion and then work backwards. This provides you with your “gut feeling” which has been proved with science as your best feeling. For me, the more time you spend on your bracket, the worse you end up doing. Every office pool is always won by the dope who picked winners based on the ferocity of the team’s mascot, or who has the cooler uniforms. Believe me, whoever who think will win in your instinct, write it down. For me, I’ve thought Kansas has had the best chance in the nation all year to win it all. That was how I felt since December, and now that the rubber meets the road, I blessed them as my National Champion.
The next step, pick a couple of upsets. This might go against what I literally just wrote, but every year there is a big upset in respect to the 5-12 matchup or the 6-11 matchup. There are even upsets in the second round with 1-8 matchups or 2-10 matchups. A key to a good bracket in consciously picking an upset. For me, my biggest upset throughout the tournament comes in the second round. In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Jimmy Valvano’s National Championship upset win with NC State over Houston, I picked the Eight Seed NC State Wolfpack to beat One Seed Indiana. The Hoosiers of Indiana have constantly been at the top this year, only to be upset by pedestrian teams. One seeds are more vulnerable than ever this year, and Indiana seems to be the weakest in my mind.
Third, don’t “go chalk” and pick all number one seeds to make the Final Four. That’s boring. And it never happens
Now for the ultimate moment of truth. My Final Four. Now, don’t take my word on this because we all know my rampant past success in sports predictions have been toothless. Out of the Midwest Region, I chose the top seeded Louisville Cardinals. Not only do they have a strong backcourt, but my cousins root for them. Why not? Emerging from the West Bracket are the Wisconsin Badgers. They are battle tested from the Big 10, and could beat one seed Gonzaga in a close game. On Wisconsin. Out of the South, are my eventual National Champions, Kansas Jayhawks. They are my gut pick, and they have two Player of the Year Candidates in Ben McLemore and Jeff Withey. My final team in the Final Four from the East is “the U” and the Miami Hurricanes. I was vehemently against Miami early before the tournament began, but seeing how easy their region is, I talked myself into them in the National Semi-Finals.
My National Championship game is Kansas vs. Louisville in a squeaker, 75-70. Rock Chalk Jayhawk.
