NCAA Bracket 2015: Tips, Info and More for Top March Madness Games
Even casual sports fans love March because of the chance to fill out their bracket for the NCAA tournament.
The three-week event is among the most popular times of the sports calendar because it seems those who have never seen a basketball before have as much of a chance to correctly pick winners as someone who studies every game.
Unfortunately for those feeling lucky, winning a billion dollars for a perfect bracket is no longer a possibility, according to Jeffrey Strain of SavingAdvice.com. On the other hand, there will be plenty of options for fans looking to take home a nice prize.
Some of the more popular tourney games include ESPN, CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports. If you want to take home the title though, you should consider this advice when filling out your bracket.
Everyone is Going to Pick Kentucky
While it might not be the case in 100 percent of brackets, it's going to seem like it. Kentucky has been the most dominant team in college basketball this season, going 31-0 in the regular season to remain No. 1 in the polls from start to finish.
According to Odds Shark, the Wildcats currently have even odds to win the title, while other sites have them at even better than that. This means in some cases you would win less than one dollar for every dollar you bet.
Kami Mottioli of Sporting News joked about Kentucky's dominance over the rest of the nation:
When filling out your bracket, you have to decide whether you will join the crowd and pick the team most likely to win, or try to be different.
As good as the Wildcats have been this season, there are certainly other teams capable of running the table. Between Duke, Virginia, Wisconsin, Arizona and others, you can justify a number of other options winning the title.
If you have any doubts that Kentucky can win the championship, you might want to pick one of these other squads to increase your odds of winning.
Don't Be Afraid to Pick Upsets
The reason this time of year is called March Madness is because anything can happen in the 68-team tournament. Even the most dominant squads throughout the year are capable of losing early.
If you think you have found a favorite ready to go down in the first weekend, pick against it with confidence.
This could include a team like Virginia, which has played great defense but doesn't really pull away from opponents because of its subpar offense. ESPN's Seth Greenberg discussed this issue during a recent loss to Louisville:
Another option could be a squad like Gonzaga, which has looked questionable against weaker competition in the West Coast Conference. Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted these doubts recently:
Obviously, it's important to see what types of matchups each team will deal with during the tournament. Still, you have to remain on the lookout for any sort of bracket-busting game.
Find the Sleeper
After last season saw No. 7 seed Connecticut defeat No. 8 seed Kentucky in the national championship game, it might be smart to avoid picking only favorites to the Final Four.
You can put yourself on top of the standings in any pool by correctly predicting a team no one expected to reach the national semifinals and beyond, the key is just figuring out which squad to pick.
One team to look out for is Northern Iowa, which recently won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and will likely be a middling seed in the NCAA tournament. Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports explained last month why he believes this team can make a deep run in March:
Unlike many mid-majors, head coach Ben Jacobson has experience in the NCAA tournament, and even went to the Sweet 16 in 2010. He helps his team by remaining calm on the sidelines, which he explained was an advantage in the MVC tournament finals despite being down at halftime, via Carson Tigges of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier:
"Today, I was OK. There's been times when we've gotten down and we haven't done what we practiced, and inside I'm as angry as I can possibly be. On occasion, that comes out in a halftime here or there. Not very often. [...]
We work hard to do things a certain way, and we work hard to prepare ourselves. If we're playing that way and the other team happens to be playing better, I feel like it's my job to help the guys just kind of get on track.
"
This demeanor could be vital when the players get into a pressure-filled moment in the Big Dance, and it just might be enough to help create a deep run in the tournament.
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