Photo Credit: The Sporting News – https://www.sportingnews.com/us/ncaa-basketball/news/march-madness-updated-list-automatic-bids-2023-ncaa-tournament/kshdgdbhks4yi51exuyouqk1
It’s the beginning of March, which means March Madness is upon us!
Whether you are setting up a bracket just for fun, or for more serious matters, it can seem like a daunting task when not knowing where to start. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament is a single-elimination national championship. Selection Sunday for March Madness is on March 12 this season. The full 68-team will be announced then.
Here are some tips for setting your March Madness bracket:
1- Picking your website
There are plenty of different websites to choose from, or you could also go the original pen-and-paper route. ESPN and even the NCAA have websites to obtain a printable bracket or fill one out online. You can also create groups online to play against your friends, family, or coworkers.
2- Research information and fill in your bracket
When filling out the bracket, you will need to pick a winner for every game of each round. Those winners will then face off in each subsequent round until one team remains. March Madness brackets are organized into four different regions that correlate to where the opening rounds are played: East, West, Midwest, and South. Each region has sixteen teams, which will be ranked one through 16.
It is recommended to follow March Madness updates on major sports and social media networks. There is also an option when playing online for an autofill bracket. You can pick between chalk, random, or smart bracket. Chalk, also called all favorites, takes the higher seed in every match automatically. Smart bracket uses ESPN’S basketball power index to generate a bracket.
3- Watch the games and have fun!
Remember, upsets do happen, and they are somewhat common. Unpredictability is expected for the circumstances. Traditional teams do usually tend to ride to the top. That can be seen from Villanova. They have won twice in the past five tournaments. Overall, the goal is to have fun watching these teams play for the championship title.
