For college basketball fans, it is the most wonderful time of the year where they are looking for the best March Madness bracket tips to win the local MM contests.
March Madness is nearly here with the Selection Sunday coming up soon. It is time for millions to put together their brackets. If you don’t know much about putting together a March Madness bracket, here are a few tips to consider.
March Madness Bracket Tips to Help You Win Your March Madness Contest
When it comes to your March Madness bracket in 2024, a few strategies will go a long way. Everyone has their own approach, and it is ultimately about luck as well. After all, there are March Madness perfect bracket odds, and they are astronomical. That’s why you will find contests offering as much as a billion dollars for a perfect bracket.
While getting a perfect bracket is virtually impossible, you should still have a strategy. There are a handful of simple things that you can do to put yourself in the best possible position when it comes time to make your current March Madness bracket picks.
Analyze Team Strengths and Weaknesses
While there is no formula for picking winners in the NCAA Tournament, each winning team isn’t exactly a surprise (for the most part). While upsets do happen, there are things that teams do well traditionally. Whether it be a dominant big man or a good backcourt, those traits shine through.
You can take a look at season performance in certain categories to get a bigger view of the picture. For instance, if a team is ranked highly but turns the ball over a lot, it could be a major red flag. There are many factors that lead to a team’s record and weaknesses tend to get exploited when the 68 best teams in the country play one another.
Identify Potential Upsets
March Madness is highlighted by upsets. The bigger the upset, the more it shakes up a bracket. Last year, No. 1 seed Purdue was upset in the first round, destroying millions of brackets. That said, picking those upsets can be tough.
Matchups can certainly play a role. Prior performance might as well. Really, it is hard to nail down which teams will upset those above them. Sometimes you just need to take a shot and hope it works out.
The University of California, Los Angeles (trophy room pictured) has won the Men’s Division I Basketball Championship a record 11 times.
Leveraging Seeding and Bracket Structure
There are two common strategies when it comes to making predictions, especially with a March Madness bracket in 2024. The first centers around seeding and the others around the structure of the bracket. Certain matchups will come up that would not have otherwise.
Seeding Strategies
Seeding strategies are very common. While it might be easy to pick the No. 1 seeds, that’s all too simple. When you get down into some of the middle-range seeds, it becomes important. Remember how important matchups are? Well, if a team that falls somewhere in the range of a No. 3 seed to a No. 9 seed, those matchups get to be tighter.
Looking closely at the bracket and the seeding is a great place to start. It isn’t foolproof by any means – see the aforementioned Purdue upset – but it is a good place to start.
Bracket Structure Analysis
One of the most common methods of making March Madness predictions has to do with analyzing the bracket. While that might sound overly complicated, it really isn’t as tough as it might sound. It all starts when the current March Madness bracket is released.
From there, all of the matchups can be given a quick once over. While those individual games are important, the path to the championship game is critical. After all, you likely cannot win your bracket without getting the participants in the Final Four correct.
In order to do that, the path has to be right. Whether it be simple matchup problems or facing a weaker opponent, those things matter.
Past March Madness Bracket Tips Examples
Let’s take a look at an example from last year’s tournament. UConn won the national championship a year ago. They were not, however, a No. 1 seed or even a No. 2 seed. UConn were a No. 4 seed in the West, with names like Kansas, UCLA, and Gonzaga ahead of them. The team from Connecticut dominated No. 13 Iona in the first round before meeting up with No. 5 Saint Mary’s in the Round of 32.
But here’s where things start to get interesting. No. 1 Kansas went down in the Round of 32. UConn got No. 8 Arkansas while Gonzaga eliminated No. 2 UCLA. UConn dispatched Gonzaga in the Elite Eight and it would be the highest seed they’d have to battle. They beat a pair of No. 5 seeds – Miami (FL) and San Diego State – to win the whole thing.
So, what do we take from all of this? UConn was tremendous in its path to the title. It dominated the entire way, make no mistake about that. But avoiding teams like Kansas and UCLA definitely helped. We see this kind of thing happen in brackets each year. Finding paths – even with the help of upsets – can create the most successful brackets.
Contrarian Approaches
Some bettors feel like there isn’t any real strategy for making the right picks. Instead, they focus on the chaotic aspect of the entire tournament. Rather than just picking the favorites – a fairly common method of making picks – some players choose the underdog every time out.
The thought is that they can capitalize on major upsets like the one of Purdue or Virginia in 2018 and ride the upsets to the crown. After all, if millions of people pick the No. 1 seed that goes down early, that probably means a lot less competition down the line.
That said, picking against the favorites is a risky proposition. They are, after all, favorites for a reason. If they advance, everyone expects it. It is a strategy that could pay off and substantially narrow down the competition, but it could also put you behind the eight-ball very quickly.
March Madness Bracket Pool Tactics & Tips
The great thing about creating March Madness brackets is that you can take any approach you want. There are some that go above and beyond analyzing every matchup. There are others that keep it simple and go another route.
For instance, some successful brackets have been achieved simply by picking mascots. It’s arbitrary, sure, but so is picking the entire bracket. Others make their picks based on team name, city, colors, etc.
Sometimes, picking a successful bracket comes down to keeping things simple and stress-free. How many of us have taken the time to pore over the matchups, looked at the stats, and felt great about their picks only to have the bracket destroyed on Day One?
Keeping a big picture approach is key. Remember, you need to have the national championship game – or at the very least the Final Four – picked. Maybe start from the end and pick backward. The point is that March Madness bracket tactics are just like making picks, in general. You will get some right you will get some wrong. In the end, you need to pick as many winners right as you can – typically 50 or more, according to the March Bracket Challenge Game – in any way you can.
Finalizing Your Bracket
When you feel as though your bracket is as ready as it can be, it is time to submit it. One of the worst things that you could do is to re-think things. It is all too easy to look over matchups and change things up over and over again.
Remember that picking a perfect bracket is nearly impossible. You are going to get some picks wrong. That’s okay, but you will more than likely screw up more picks by flip-flopping. Go through your picks carefully but stick to your guns and you will more often than not wind up getting things right compared to changing them around.
FAQ About March Madness Bracket Tips
What is a March Madness Bracket?
A March Madness bracket is one that centers around the NCAA basketball tournament. You can find a blank March Madness bracket in online templates. You can even find a March Madness 2024 bracket that is printable so you can fill it out by hand.
How Do I Fill Out a Bracket?
When it comes to, “How to make a March Madness bracket,” the process is simple. When the March Madness bracket odds are released, just find a current March Madness bracket with all of the seeds listed. In the blank spaces, fill out your March Madness bracket predictions by picking which teams will advance. Finally, pick a team that will win the entire March Madness bracket in 2024.
What are Common Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out My Bracket?
There are a few mistakes when it comes to March Madness bracket gambling. When you fill out your March Madness bracket, try to avoid past performance. Each year is a new tournament. March Madness bracket odds change each year. Consider streaks but look at matchups instead.
How are March Madness Brackets Scored?
When making March Madness predictions, each correct pick is awarded points. At the end, your March Madness current bracket will be evaluated and scored, with a total being given. The player with the most points will win the entire bracket.
Can I Join Multiple March Madness Contests with the Same Bracket?
Of course! When it comes to a March Madness bracket in 2024, you can enter in as many contests as you’d like. While most of these contests typically have an entry limit, there are so many contests happening that you won’t face a shortage.
Where Can I Find Expert Analysis and Predictions for March Madness?
March Madness is one of the biggest times of the sporting year. You will find March Madness bracket predictions in a ton of places. You may even find some March Madness perfect bracket odds here and there.
What Happens if There’s a Tie in a March Madness Contest?
Should two or more players tie in a March Madness bracket 2024 contest, there is a tiebreaker. In most cases, it involves picking the final score of the national championship game. The closest to the exact score will win.
When Do I Need to Submit My March Madness Bracket?
Entry times vary depending on the contest. Many of them will allow brackets to be submitted all the way up to the day before the first game. Just check the rules ahead of time so you don’t miss out on submitting your March Madness bracket predictions.
Can I Edit My Bracket After Submitting It?
Once your bracket has been submitted, it is final. There are no changes made and you will be scored based on the picks you make prior to submitting.
How Can I Follow March Madness Games and Track My Bracket’s Performance?
There are generally two ways of following your bracket picks. If you have a physical bracket, you will have to track it yourself. Check scores to find out the winners, cross out the losers, and see how your picks progress. Online, most brackets update automatically. Losers are typically denoted by a strikethrough, bolded in red, or through other means.
How Do I Claim Prizes if I Win a March Madness Contest?
Claiming prizes also depends on the contest itself. Check the fine print and see how prizes are paid out. For instance, some cash prizes are paid out over time rather than as a bulk payment. Know ahead how to claim to avoid any potential issues.
What are Some Fun Variations of March Madness Brackets?
In addition to making straight picks, there are different versions. Some include the lottery draw, snake drafts, survivor pools, seed multipliers, auction drafts, and more.
The Kansas Jayhawks wrap up their practice session before March Madness 2016.
Conclusion
March Madness is one of the most wonderful times of the year. Millions of players are looking for March Madness bracket tips to win contests while attempting to pick all the right winners.
When you have a little better idea of how to approach the contest, you can put yourself in a better position to win it all.
Check out our previews for Iowa State, Drake Bulldogs and Iowa Hawkeyes and how far they can go in the tournament.
Also if you are from Colorado, check how far Colorado State can go in March Madness.
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