March Madness 2012: Best Ways to Guarantee You Don't Screw Up Your Bracket

The main goal of March Madness is to not screw up your bracket, so that's what we all should be aspiring to do for the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

The sad truth is most of us will botch it.

Unfortunately, there's just no way to accurately predict what will happen. If a team is off their game, it can completely ruin your whole bracket, especially if you picked them to go far.

Subsequently, if a team catches fire and you picked against them—chances are you're bracket is ending up in the trash.

While there are never any guarantees, there are a few ways you can guarantee that you won't screw up, or at least increase your chances of success.

Here's some advice on how to not screw up your bracket.

Don't Be A Hero

Everybody wants to be that guy who mystically predicted George Mason or VCU would make a magical run through the tournament.

The fact is, the percentages are highly against you.

Sure, could a team like Iona make a crazy run from the First Four to the Final Four? I guess anything is possible.

There's a huge difference between possibilities and probabilities though, so take that into account when you're picking your bracket.

Don't Be That Guy

Nobody wants to be "that guy", so do yourself a favor and heed my advice. Everybody knows that one annoying jerk who picks a team to go all the way because they have a fun nickname and are extremely small-time.

For instance, somebody is going to pick the South Dakota State Jackrabbits to make it to the Final Four, simply because they are named the Jackrabbits.

Don't be that guy. Please, just don't do that.

Favor The Favorites

This is probably the best advice I could give to anybody asking me for help picking their bracket. The favorites are ranked high for a reason—they are the better team.

Everybody loves the Cinderella story, but the truth is, they happen far less than you think they do.

The percentages are with the favorites, so don't feel pressured into picking multiple upsets. Sure, will there be one or two? Of course.

More often than not though, the better team is going to advance.

Go Get Em...

You've got everything you need, so go make it happen. Consider yourself learned, consider yourself much more logical and consider yourself a better person.

Go make me proud.