With less than 24 hours left before No. 4 seed Duke tips off against No. 13 UNC Wilmington at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, there’s not much time left to set up your bracket. But, if you’ve still got time to spare when you read this, here are some tips to help guide your choices.
Stop, just stop
Injuries aside, quit fiddling with your bracket if you were happy with it to begin with. It wasn’t perfect before, and it won’t be if you switch your pick from No. 7 Iowa to No. 10 Temple.
Don’t obsess
This branches off the first tip. For those just beginning their brackets now, don’t go bananas trying to decipher which teams will reach the second round. Take 30 seconds at most to think it over, then go with your gut and don’t look back.
Go with the No. 1s
Don’t get cute with those No. 16 seeds. Top seeds haven’t lost in the first round since the field expanded to 64 teams 30 years ago. I’ll believe that streak ends when I see it.
Don’t trust me
Anyone who says they know what they’re doing when it comes to filling out a bracket is still just making educated guesses. With that in mind, I’d like to tell you I know what I’m doing. I picked Virginia, No. 1 in the Midwest Regional, to win it all. Note: I haven’t picked a winner in more than a decade.
Embrace the Madness
Really, filling out a bracket is just a way to invest in the proceedings of March Madness. Unless you’ve got some Benjamins on the line in your pool — you’re crazy if you do, by the way — just watch the games and enjoy.
