2008 Woodie Awards
Read this before filling out your NCAA bracket
Ryan Hecht
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Sports
The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament brings out the most drama, excitement and emotion of the season on the court. It also brings out the most drama in the living room, classroom and office. Rivalries are made, money is exchanged and respect is on the line. When you fill out a bracket, you are aware of all these consequences.
Basketball fans fill out the tournament brackets in a number of ways and for a number of reasons. There's the Environmentalist strategy in which the team with the better advantaged mascot advances. There's the Tunnel Vision Fan who picks his favorite team to go all the way, maybe even winning the NIT on the way just for kicks. How about the Upset Guy who only picks upsets so he can parade around the office and say things like "I never even watch basketball!"
A lot of people fill out brackets just for bragging rights, which is just silly. Put something on the line, be it money, lunch, a kiss … something. Not only will you be more excited about winning you will also want to keep reading this article.
When it comes to filling out brackets I am certainly no psychic and often I do worse than my sister (The Environmentalist) but I do benefit from watching a lot of basketball and keeping up with the trends and history of the tournament. So to help you win in your pool, here are some tips to remember when filling out this year's bracket.
First, before you do anything else, advance the number 1 seeds to the round of 32. No 16 seed has ever beaten a number 1 seed. This is not the time to get cute; it's too early for that.
Number 2 seeds are another safe bet to advance, being that they are 84-4 against the number 15 seed. Just to be safe, I wouldn't pick against a number 3 seed either. The top three seeds should all advance to the round of 32.
Now it's time to use some discretion and time for upsets. It's almost certain that at least one number 12 and 13 seed will advance. The 12-5 games are a lot of fun and one of the best places to find an upset. Also the 9 seed is 46-38 against the 8 seed. Perhaps the 8 seed is too bummed out about having to play the number 1 seed next to care to win.
Basketball fans fill out the tournament brackets in a number of ways and for a number of reasons. There's the Environmentalist strategy in which the team with the better advantaged mascot advances. There's the Tunnel Vision Fan who picks his favorite team to go all the way, maybe even winning the NIT on the way just for kicks. How about the Upset Guy who only picks upsets so he can parade around the office and say things like "I never even watch basketball!"
A lot of people fill out brackets just for bragging rights, which is just silly. Put something on the line, be it money, lunch, a kiss … something. Not only will you be more excited about winning you will also want to keep reading this article.
When it comes to filling out brackets I am certainly no psychic and often I do worse than my sister (The Environmentalist) but I do benefit from watching a lot of basketball and keeping up with the trends and history of the tournament. So to help you win in your pool, here are some tips to remember when filling out this year's bracket.
First, before you do anything else, advance the number 1 seeds to the round of 32. No 16 seed has ever beaten a number 1 seed. This is not the time to get cute; it's too early for that.
Number 2 seeds are another safe bet to advance, being that they are 84-4 against the number 15 seed. Just to be safe, I wouldn't pick against a number 3 seed either. The top three seeds should all advance to the round of 32.
Now it's time to use some discretion and time for upsets. It's almost certain that at least one number 12 and 13 seed will advance. The 12-5 games are a lot of fun and one of the best places to find an upset. Also the 9 seed is 46-38 against the 8 seed. Perhaps the 8 seed is too bummed out about having to play the number 1 seed next to care to win.
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