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How to Pick a Winning March Madness Bracket. Follow these insider tips and you might just
win your NCAA basketball tournament pool. You will need Internet access NCAA bracket
and decisiveness. Several states officially bar all gambling, including pools in which
the organizer does not profit. Know your local laws before organizing a pool involving money.
Step 1. As soon as the tournament teams are announced, read sports sites and blogs to
get the lay of the land. Look for information on programs' late-season injuries, winning
and losing streaks, and post-season playing history, which may indicate how a team approaches
high-pressure elimination games. Don't limit yourself to one particular site; national
news may not have access to local details, while regional information can carry a heavy
hometown bias. Step 2. Take seeding, or a team's rank, into account but don't be a slave
to it; there are often upsets, most notably in the no. 5 - no.12 match-ups in the first
round. Use your bracket's point system to maximize your gains, as some award more points
based on the winning team's initial seeding. Ignore rank completely starting in the Elite
Eight. One study has shown that the tournament's last three rounds are statistical toss-ups.
Step 3. Pay attention to teams' rebounding statistics, which indicate a team's ability
to judge shot quality and capitalize on opponents' mistakes with second-chance points and fast
breaks. Step 4. Study teams' offensive stats; free throws and three-point shooting can be
important factors in closing games and overcoming deficits quickly, while assists can indicate
the ability to create opportunities and adjust to opponents' defensive weaknesses, as well
as the capacity to work well as a team. Step 5. Focus on teams that can play both a zone
and a man-to-man defense, and therefore adapt easily to the variety of teams they might
face during the tournament. Step 6. Try to find out the picks other people in your pool
are making and deviate when reasonable; choosing an unpopular team might seem daunting, but
if they win, so will you. Remember: no risk, no reward. Step 7. When in doubt, go with
your gut. And most importantly, root from your heart – the tournament is more fun
that way! Did you know In 2008, all four no. 1-ranked teams made it to the Final Four for
the first time in the tournament's 71-year history.