How to Win Your Office’s March Madness 2016 Pool
It’s that time of year again, folks. We’re gearing up for another March Madness. And if you think you have a shot at creating the perfect bracket, well, your chances of that are (at least some believe) 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808. Don’t let that get you down. If you’re partaking in an office March Madness pool (or maybe even with just a set of friends), here are some tips to creating a (somewhat) promising March Madness bracket.
First thing’s first: you’re going to want to predict some upsets. There are always upsets in the tournament. That’s one thing you can count on, but it’s predicting the right one’s that will impress your pool. Sure, you can go in circles for hours with variables and math equations to decide who has the better chance, or you can look at common upsets that have happened in the past.
Take a look at 12-5 matchups. In the past, many No. 12 teams have upset their No. 5 matchup. According to an analyst from ESPN, a 12-5 matchup is the most common upset there is, so be on the look out for those.
Look down the line. By this, I mean you should look down the tournament and see which teams are possible matchups. This determines everything down to your Elite 8 picks, then your Final Four, and finally your Championship winner. Some people refer to this as “hedging your picks.” You might think a No. 1 seed is the best overall team to win it all, but you should always look down the road. Is it possible a No. 8 or No. 4 might upset them? It’s possible.
Check the odds. Always stick with the odds. Do your research if you really want to win your pool. Check what linesmakers are saying, what the favorites to win are, and you can even check the odds in an online sportsbook. These tell you the odds of each team winning, but remember, favorites will not always win and sometimes the highest seed isn’t pegged as favorite either.
Remember that you’re not going to pick every game accurately. No one does. Perfect brackets (as you see above) are incredibly difficult to meet. It will take a little luck if you want to win your office pool. Just have fun with it!
Selection Sunday is this Sunday, March 13 beginning on CBS at 5:30 p.m. ET.
Tags: College basketball, March Madness