March Madness

I just finished my bracket and as the defending champ in our family, I have to go big or go home! I put all my chips on Duke. Hope they have as good of a tournament as my sources tell me they should.

I should probably be ashamed to say that the biggest upset of my bracket is having our MN Gophers getting beat by Middle Tennessee. That pick was based solely on my 11-year old's reaction when he found out we had to play them. However, he picked the Gophers. Oops.

Treasure, I would love your mentoring to create a bracket and surprise my husband and son with my new found knowledge and bball team competition and spirit! During March madness, the TV is on constantly on in our home and there is always ONE MORE REALLY IMPORTANT GAME that takes precedence over all other viewing options! So this time I would rather 'lean in' to the games with insider knowledge!

Hey @natashanmat! I won't pretend to be an expert on this, but I can say that I understand ONE MORE REALLY IMPORTANT GAME. For those that know my life outside of Mayo, it revolves VERY MUCH around the world of sports. I am a wife to a huge sports enthusiast and have apparently raised two boys to be the same. 🙂 We have a man-cave in our basement that has numerous tvs on one wall. I think it is Sunday Football and March Madness that inspired that when we were building. So yes, I get that the tv is constantly on. Even when I am not really watching, I can't help but pick up on a few things. And, I try to be present with my family when they are talking about different games (which seems like a constant). That is why I have been throwing my hat in the ring to create brackets every year. Last year was my first year of winning. My youngest teases me that I picked teams based on their cool uniforms. I may not have the extent of knowledge they have, but hey, I do okay for myself. 🙂

Sorry, that was a long way to get into the mentoring piece of this reply. Let me know if you want to chat offline about this, but in case their isn't time (the first games start tonight), here are some tips that MAY be useful. Maybe others have tips as well?

1. Pick teams with cool uniforms - just kidding. 🙂
2. Figure out who you want to play in the championship and then work backwards on that arm of the bracket.
3. Pick a team or two that may shock the world and beat their higher seeded opponents. There are ALWAYS upsets in the NCAA tourney. You just have to hope you pick the teams that get further than their seed indicated.
4. Watch Sports Center the week before selection Sunday as this is when conference tourneys are taking place and they are talking about who is hot right now (this is solely why I picked Duke as my winner). This won't work for you this year, but a tip for the future. 🙂
5. Honestly, outside of a couple bigger upsets, I mostly pick the teams with the higher seeds. Those that are doing the seeding have to know what they are doing to be on the committee, right? That being said, when it is an 8 playing a 9, or a 7 playing a 10, I may look a bit more at the records before choosing.
6. If you know NOTHING, and want to have a chance to wow the men in your life, there are A TON of prediction websites that can guide you.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

I'm a University of Michigan graduate and a fair weather fan... so, go Wolverines! (I think the odds would pay well on this prediction)

How are you doing in your bracket? I still have UNC winning the whole thing but it would be fun to see SC win it as an underdog.

Thanks for asking, @deeannhimli! 🙂

I had Duke winning it all, but as it turns out, it doesn't matter. All four of us only have one of the final four teams still in it and no one can catch me. Whew!

I won! I have bragging rights for another year! 🙂

Good for you! With it being so cold today hard to believe the Twins Opener is coming up, hope they do better than last year. Have a good day.