While people use different methods to pick NCAA March Madness brackets, there is a minimal guarantee of success although they might work to some degree. The techniques range from luck and superstition to advanced analytics and statistics.
People tend to get increasingly serious about their brackets with an increase in stakes such as the amount of money on the line. Keep in mind that regardless of the strategy, you can never be assured of selecting a perfect bracket.
Still, you can increase your chances of success by using the methods highlighted in this article.
Statistical analysis
It would not be a stretch to say that every person who picks a bracket makes use of this strategy in one way or the other. There are many ways you could go about using this method to select your bracket, which increases the chance of success. You could look into a team’s past performance, a team’s seed and the performance of that particular seed in the past, individual team members, factors that may affect team performance, among other factors. Ideally, your chance of success increases with an increase in data so the more information you gather, the better.
Monitor the trends
Paying attention to the trends surrounding March Madness is yet another ideal way to select your brackets. For instance, you could look into a team’s performance in the games preceding March Madness, or a seed’s trends in past events and so on. You can then use this data to predict the chances of success for your particular bracket. Nevertheless, it would be wise to remember that trends tend to shift at any moment. To that effect, you should be on the lookout for factors that may affect a team’s performance, such as injury or changes in management. Keeping track of the events is one of the reasons you should stream the 2018 NCAA March Madness, not to mention keeping an eye on the performance of the seeds in your brackets.
Consider external factors
Most people tend to focus too much on the games, seeds, and teams that they overlook other factors that could have a significant impact on the result. Looking into such factors increases your chances of success and helps minimize risk when selecting your brackets. For instance, a team’s performance may be affected by how far from or close to home they play. You should also consider factors such as team management, coaching, among others.
The stakes and motivation
Each team and player has something to prove on March Madness. The higher the stakes for a team, the harder they are bound to try and succeed. Finding out what motivates a team and what they hope to achieve as well as how bad they want it could come in handy when selecting your winning NCAA March Madness.
Lookout for mistakes
It is easy to get carried away when selecting March Madness brackets. However, if you’re looking to pick a winning bracket, then there are mistakes you should be aware of and avoid. By knowing what to avoid, you can focus your efforts and strategy on making a winning selection. Aside from strengthening your choice, looking out for mistakes also minimizes your losses in the unfortunate event that your luck turns sour.
The Takeaway
While picking a perfect bracket is close to impossible, you can still have a winning bracket with high enough odds to guarantee your success. Knowing the mistakes to avoid, relying on statistical analysis, monitoring the trends, taking into account the stakes and motivation and considering external factors are all practical strategies that you could use to pick winning March Madness brackets.