Printable NCAA Bracket 2022: Downloadable Bracket and Picks Advice

The field for the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament has been set. The bracket was set on Selection Sunday, which means that office productivity on Monday morning will likely be impacted.

The tournament itself is exciting, but the practice of trying to predict the perfect bracket has become an annual event of its own. Bracketology is going to be a national focus in the coming days.

The men's tournament is set to get underway on Tuesday with the beginning of the First Four round. Texas Southern, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Indiana, Wyoming, Bryant, Wright State, Notre Dame and Rutgers will all vie for a spot in the tournament proper over a two-day span.

The official opening round will begin on Thursday with the field of 64.

Here, you'll find everything you need to know to catch the early tournament action, along with an easily printable bracket ready to be filled in.

2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Schedule and Bracket

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First Four: March 14-16

First Round: March 17-18

Second Round: March 19-20

Sweet 16: March 24-25

Elite Eight: March 26-27

Final Four: April 2

NCAA Championship Game: April 4

Complete First Four and round-of-64 scheduling information can be found at NCAA.com. A printable bracket can be found here.

Early-Round Picks Advice

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Since most bracket pools award more points for later rounds, it's best to avoid busting your bracket in the opening round. Picking an upset or two in the round of 64 is wise, but the trick is picking the right ones.

Look for teams with mid-level seeds (Nos. 4-8) that are ripe for the early upset. Seventh-seeded Murray State, for example, is riding a 20-game winning streak but has little experience playing against high-level competition. San Francisco could steal one in the opening round.

Sixth-seeded Texas, meanwhile, faces a white-hot Virginia Tech team that throttled Duke to win the ACC tournament title.

However, it's best to avoid going overboard with upset picks. High double-digit seeds shouldn't garner a heavy investment, and 16th seeds should be avoided entirely.

In last year's tournament, only five teams seeded 12th-15th advanced to the round of 32. UMBC's 2018 victory over No. 1 seed Virginia remains the only such upset in the history of the men's tournament.

No. 1 seeds Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Baylor should all be picked to make it to at least the second round.

Final Four Picks Advice

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While No. 1 seeds should be picked to advance, one should avoid backing all four of them to reach the Final Four.

All four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four just once during the tournament's history. That happened in 2008. The men's tournament has seen three No. 1 seeds among the last four just five times in its history.

Last year, Gonzaga and Baylor were the only No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four.

All four No. 1 seeds are viable choices to make the Final Four, but the odds favor only one or two top seeds making the run. According to NCAA.com, a single No. 1 seed has made the Final Four 41.7 percent of the time. Two No. 1s have made it 38.9 percent of the time.

All other scenarios involving No. 1 seeds—four teams, three teams or no teams—have each occurred less than 12 percent of the time.

Which No. 1 seeds are worth backing? That's obviously your decision, but Gonzaga is shaping up to be the popular choice. Nine of 16 experts at The Athletic, for example, have picked the Bulldogs to win after falling short against Baylor a year ago.

Gonzaga is the pick here as well, based on the school's recent experience and talent level. The Bulldogs are on a 26-3 run and know what it takes to go deep after losing championship games in both 2017 and 2021.