Tips to Win Your March Madness Tournament Pool

Tips to Win Your March Madness Tournament Pool

There is no shortage of significant events in the month of March, not with a calendar that in 2023 includes St. Patrick’s Day (17th), the arrival of spring (20^th) and the opening of the Major League Baseball season (30^th). All these highlights, however, in recent years have taken a back seat to the NCAA basketball tournament, that American cultural phenomenon known as March Madness.

The most watched (and debated) U.S. sporting event between the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, the tournament pitting 68 of college basketball’s best men’s teams against each other has given rise to bracketology, in which gamblers both professional and amateur put their best guesses to work trying to identify the eventual national champion. Whether you’re in a friendly pool with family or co-workers or trying to make some serious money on one of the many online wagering platforms, here are few tips to maximize your chances to come out on top.

Know the Rules: There are as many variations on bracket pools as there are teams in the tourney. To be sure, most award the following number of points for a correct pick in each successive tournament round: 1-2-4-8-16-32. But if your pool is different, don’t even start selecting teams until you fully understand the intricacies of its particular scoring system.

Conduct the Research: Let’s face it, no one save the most dedicated college hoops aficionado is going to know everything about every team in the tournament. Fortunately, there are scores of online sources you can consult to research each team’s season to date and likely tourney prospects. In addition, you can gleam a sense of national trends by consulting major bracket contest sites like Yahoo and ESPN.

Avoid the Obvious: The four No. 1 seeds are the best teams in the country, right? Well, yes and no, and besides March Madness is notorious for breeding upsets. Suffice it to say, do not pick all the No. 1’s to reach the Final Four; it has never happened. Likewise, the winningest teams rarely win it all; just twice has a team with 30 victories actually been crowned national champion.

Know Your Opposition: You can only win your bracket pool if you get right the picks your opponents get wrong. So before filling out your bracket, consider what teams everyone else is likely to select and take a very close look at the strengths of their potential opponents. With March Madness, thinking outside the box can potentially pay off.

Avoid Upset Madness: As noted, hardly a March Madness goes by without its share of Cinderella stories, usually in the form of a squad from some comparatively obscure conference knocking off a projected Final Four team. Romantic as the notion is, it also can lead you to some borderline reckless selections. It’s OK to identify a potential sleeper or two but resist the urge to bet the house on them, even if they are your beloved alma mater. Go Hoosiers!

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