Printable NCAA Brackets 2012: Make Picks for Entire March Madness Tournament

There are two official holidays during the month of March, St. Patrick's Day and Selection Sunday, the day when everyone in America is Nostradamus.

When all the games and conference championships have been played and the brackets finally revealed, college basketball fans take to the printer to snag a copy of the tournament map and begin their predictions.

Click here for a printable version of Bleacher Report's 2012 NCAA Men's Tournament Bracket.

The journey to a respectable bracket begins with a crash course in college basketball's regular season. There are questions to be asked and answers to be found.

For example: Which teams were dominant throughout (Kentucky and Syracuse)? Which players are on fire (Anthony Davis and Draymond Green)? 

The 2012 national champion will more than likely be one of the top eight programs in the nation. This theory is supported by the fact that only one time in tournament history have zero No. 1 or 2 seeds made it to the Final Four (2011).

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Top 8 Teams (as of March 5) 

1. Kentucky (30-1) 

2. Syracuse (30-1)

3. Kansas (26-5) 

4. North Carolina (27-4) 

5. Missouri (27-4) 

6. Duke (26-5)

7. Ohio State (25-6) 

8. Michigan State (24-7) 

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Kentucky and Syracuse look like the favorites to win it all this April, based on their ability to withstand just about everyone's best shot throughout the regular season and conference play. Both teams won their conference during the regular season, but fell in their respective postseason tournaments.

If you have a soft spot for teams coming into the Big Dance on a winning streak, Missouri is a solid pick to go deep in the tournament. The Tigers won the Big 12 Conference Tournament in convincing fashion and are expected to create a variety of matchup problems as a top seed this March. 

Picking Kansas, Duke or North Carolina would be a safe bet as well, considering that those three programs have each won a National Championship within the last four years. Each of their coaches has been on center stage and completed the March mission. 

Filling out a bracket is never easy, but banking on one of the top eight teams to hit their stride at the right time is a sure way to look like a college basketball expert.