National Bracket Day

Happy National Braket Day! That is what the NCAA is calling today, since they now have the play-in games tomorrow you only have 1 day to fill out your brackets-TODAY.

The real questions you need to ask yourself as you are picking teams on National Bracket Day are:

How far do you let your favorite team go?

Do you have the Huskies beating Georgia? Beating North Carolina in Carolina? Do you have them beating Syracuse or Xavier? These are hard questions because you want UW to do well but you don’t want to lose your money you put in or your respect. However, could UW beat all those teams? Sure, but it won’t be easy.

How much credence do you give the Big East?

Is the conference really that good? It seems like this happened last year too (not 11 teams but seemingly too many), and many Big East teams tanked in the NCAA tournament. Do teams get a free ride because they are in a certain conference?

Do you fill out the play-in games or not?

I have noticed that some online NCAA brackets want you to fill out all of the play-in games while others just throw a lump in like USC/VCU vs. Georgetown. It’s as if some sites are reluctant to admit there is a new system. I filled out the play-in games, I am not saying I support the new system, but it is more basketball!

Where do you pick your upsets?

This is a big question because every year there are at least a few upsets and some years there are a bunch. There seems to be every year that one cinderella team aka “the bracket buster”. Who do you pick to be your upset special?

Who is your Final Four?

Some people work backwards, they figure out who they have in their final four and then work through their bracket. Others fill out their bracket from first to last but realize when they get to their final four that they have all 1 seeds and they don’t like that. Or they have a 12 seed and laugh because that doesn’t happen. To help you out-make sure you have a realistic final four.

These are 5 questions you need to consider when you are filling out your bracket. Sure I could give you who I picked or you could ask your friends, or you could look at all the pundits sites and go with that. But the best brackets are the ones you just do on your own, without too much analyzation. The people that over analyze never have upsets and end up losing in the long run.