March Madness 2011 Bracket: 10 Unique Ways to Plot out Your Bracket

Selection Sunday is only a few days away, and that means the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament will be finalized. It will be a bit different filling out the bracket this year since I'm sure many of us are used to filling out 65 spots, but that shouldn't change any strategies. After all, it doesn't matter who really wins the play-in games since they'll lose to the number one seed in each region.

It's relatively easy to try and fill out a proper bracket, though it is rather tedious. It's a bit harder, and a lot more fun, to take a unique approach to filling out the bracket and pick an entirely strange reason for selecting the teams.

Here are ten unique ways to fill out the bracket. Going solely by seeds and finishing with four number ones will not be included because that's both not unique and boring.

1. Go Presidential

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 15: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) presents Basetball Hall of Fame member and human rights advocate Bill Russell the 2010 Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House February 15, 2011 in Washington, DC. Obama presented

This may sounds stupid on the surface, but Barack Obama did correctly choose North Carolina in 2009, so it's possible. I can entirely see ESPN bringing President Obama on so that we can see which teams he decides to go with.

Any of those who are more politically savvy could just use Obama's bracket and see how well it does. For those that are Republicans, just pick the opposite teams once you hit the sweet 16. You could do the opposite all the way through if you really want four sixteen seeds going deep.

2. Go Alphabetical

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS - NOVEMBER 27: Solomon Hill #44 of the Arizona Wildcats looks to pass against the Kansas Jayhawks during the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational at The Orleans Arena November 27, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kansas won 87-79. (Photo

For starters, Arizona has a dark horse chance to win the tournament, so this isn't the worst way to go. And I can't see Wofford getting deep in the bracket, so there's a point right there.

Besides that, it would be good for a laugh to start rooting for Duke or Colorado, then when people ask you why, you say they're first in the alphabet. The only downside is that you'll likely make a few enemies out of Texas fans, though if you prefer schools later in the alphabet, then you could always go in reverse alphabetical order.

3. Give East Coast/West Coast Bias a Whole New Meaning

Nick Laham/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Kemba Walker #15 of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates a basket against the DePaul Blue Demons at Madison Square Garden on March 8, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Since people complain about various others having biases, such as ESPN having an East Coast bias and the like, why not just make it official? For each spot, just see which team is further West or East (depending on which side you want to do) and have that one advance.

It could be fun, and you can learn about geography in the process, as well as learning exactly where schools are.

4. Pulling Names out of a Hat/Lottery System

Larry Busacca/Getty Images

NEW YORK - MAY 18: (EXCLUSIVE) Cultural icon and Nets investor JAY-Z and Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov celebrate Prokhorov's purchase of the team at lunch today at JAY-Z's 40/40 club on May 18, 2010 in New York City. Prokhorov is representing the Nets ton

While this might sound boring at first, there are ways to make this fun. If you just put two pieces of paper in a hat and pick one over and over, then yes, that's no fun.

Instead of that, it can be made into a lottery system. For example, for a Texas/Wofford match, have ten slips of paper with Texas and one with Wofford, and as the teams get further in and are closer seeds, then the odds can even out. It's a lot of work, but there are probably computer programs that can do that for you so you don't have to waste paper.

5. Pick the Coolest Names

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

CHAPEL HILL, NC - MARCH 05: Nolan Smith #2 of the Duke Blue Devils runs into Leslie McDonald #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels during their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on March 5, 2011 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty

There are probably people out there that don't follow one bit of college basketball, yet fill out a bracket (and some of them probably do use this method). Just pick the ones that sound the best and have them advance, and the one with the best name wins.

What makes this work is that we all have our own opinion of what a cool name is. Some might think Wofford is awesome, and others might think it sounds silly. Yes, it can backfire if Kansas wins it all, but it's a way to go.

6. Graduation Rates

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

DENVER - MARCH 18: Judson Wallace #30 of the Princeton Tigers drives against a Texas Longhorns defender during a first round game in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Pepsi Center on March 18, 2004 in Denver, Colorado. Texas defeated Princeton 66-4

We always look at the athletic side of college sports, but it's easy to forget that these people are students as well. It's why many coaches are not fond of the "one and done" situation that is prevalent in some colleges.

For once, why not root for the schools that graduate their students? For each matchup, see which schools have the best graduation rates for players. Granted, Princeton or Harvard will probably win, but it would be interesting to see who advances. It can be done inversely as well to see which schools don't graduate their players.

7. Add an Upset Quota

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

DENVER - MARCH 20: Will Thomas #34 of the George Mason Patriots drives to the basket against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first round of the East Regional as part of the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Pepsi Center on March 20, 2008

In every March Madness Tournament there are going to be at least a few upsets. That's what makes filling out the bracket fun. By creating a quota of how many upsets to add in (either for each region or overall) it not only puts you out of your comfort zone, but makes you really think about where upsets could happen.

In this instance, not only is it fun, but if the tournament is upset-riddled, then your bracket could be one of the best ones out there.

8. Go by Prominence in Football

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 11: Detail of the Football Writers of America trophy before being presented to head coach Gene Chizik (not pictured) of the Auburn Tigers during a press conference for the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game at the JW Marrio

The smart way to go through a bracket is to try to figure out who's the better basketball team between the two schools. The fun way is to use the school's football teams and pit those against each other. Yes, that means schools without them are automatically gone in the first round.

It could actually work out fairly well; North Carolina could get to the elite eight, as could Connecticut and Pittsburgh, and that puts Ohio State in the Final Four. I normally wouldn't suggest this, but 2011 seems like the year where this bracket would do better than in other years.

Plus, since Auburn, Oregon and TCU won't be in the tournament, that opens up the door for whoever you'd like to be champion, and Duke haters can give them an early exit in this bracket.

9. Battle of the Mascots

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 07: Gonzaga Bulldogs mascot Spike the Bulldog appears on the court during the championship game of the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball tournament against the Saint Mary's Gaels at the Orleans Arena March 7, 2011 in Las V

Despite the lack of a Stanford Cardinal tree in this year's tournament, a possibly effective way to do a bracket is to go be the team names and mascots. Whichever one you like more advances.

The ones that are rather boring will be gone quickly, and perhaps Spike in the picture below will make a good run if you're partial to the bulldog. Surprisingly enough, success rates for doing this in office pools are surprisingly high, so if you have no other ideas it's definitely worth a shot.

The only problem here is if Villanova and Kentucky face off. Which Wildcats win?

10. Go With Your Gut

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 08: Isaiah Armwood #34 of the Villanova Wildcats goes for a rebound against Jarrid Famous #31 and Jawanza Poland #5 of the South Florida Bulls during the first round of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament presented by Americ

When I say "go with your gut," I mean only your gut. For this one. Take the bracket, sans everything but the school names (no records, and no seeds if you can cross them out) and go into an empty room. Go through all the matchups and just pick the winner on first instinct.

Will there be some odd selections? Yes. Will there be some choices that look stupid on paper and even stupider in hindsight? Yes. Having said that, no one knows how March Madness will turn out, and you can easily win an office pool going solely on gut. I had Cornell in the sweet sixteen last year using my gut, so it can work out very well.