Printable NCAA Bracket 2013: Final Advice Before Second-Round Tipoffs

The 2013 NCAA tournament begins in earnest at 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, meaning you have a few more hours to print, fill out and submit your bracket before the opening tipoff.

There is also plenty of time left to carefully pick teams and insure that you have a great chance of winning bragging rights (and possibly much more) at the conclusion of March Madness.

If you aren’t sure of where to get an updated bracket, which upsets to pick and what favorites should advance, or have any other concerns pertaining to the Big Dance—don’t fret, we have you covered.

Keep reading for a quick-and-dirty guide to putting together a top-notch bracket in this year’s NCAA tourney.

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Upsets

Underdogs defeating higher-seeded teams is an inevitable part of life during the NCAA tournament, which is why its one of the most exciting annual events in all of sports.

It’s pertinent that you pick a few ‘dogs to pull an upset—especially in the second and third rounds. While you don’t want to go crazy and have all of the No. 15 seeds advancing, taking a chance on a No. 12, No. 11 and even a few No. 10’s is quite reasonable and actually encouraged.

In 2013, some of our favorite potential upsets include No. 12 Oregon over No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Saint Mary’s (CA) over Memphis in the Midwest region, No. 12 Ole Miss over No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 10 Iowa State over No. 7 Notre Dame in the West region, No. 13 South Dakota State over No. 4 Michigan and No. 11 Minnesota over No. 6 UCLA in the South region and No. 11 Bucknell over No. 6 Butler in the East region.

Consider taking a handful of these or picking a few different ones on your own bracket—but avoid a No. 16 taking out a No. 1, as it has never happened in the history of the tourney.

 

Favorites

While every underdog deserves its day, the favorites are what you have to concentrate on in order to win big.

These are the schools that are more than likely going to be advancing into the Elite Eight, Final Four and championship rounds—earning the most points for the knowledgeable bracketologists that had the foresight to place these powerhouses in the latter stages of the tournament.

No. 1 seeds Indiana, Kansas, Gonzaga and Louisville are all legitimate threats to win a title with relatively easy roads to the Final Four and No. 2-seeded Duke, Ohio State, Georgetown and Miami shouldn’t be easily dismissed.

You are going to want to include at least two—and likely three—of these eight teams in your Final Four, as the odds are in favor of them making a run this year.

Of course, as unwise as it is to pick No. 16 seeds to win, it’s just about as crazy to pick all No. 1 seeds to round out your Final Four. That has only happened one time in the long history of this event (2008), and isn’t an outcome probable to repeat itself anytime soon.

Keep your bracket balanced, as going too crazy with underdogs or favorites is a great way to shoot yourself in the foot.

 

Final Thoughts

Picking a great bracket is the definition of an inexact science. At times, you’ll find the pool winner is your best friend’s grandmother, who clicked teams at random based on the mascots or colors.

While this tends to happen, you can put yourself at an advantage over 90 percent of your competition by just being smart, following the advice above and keeping it simple.

The likelihood of picking a perfect bracket with a 64-team field is ridiculously low, so relax, find a few underdogs you like, jump on a favorite to win it all and have fun with this.

Remember, March Madness is about to begin, so make sure you get that bracket finished and submitted by Noon eastern time!