It’s that time of year when everyone is looking for March Madness bracket tips. Even more people will be entering both men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament bracket challenges this year than in year’s past. The popularity of women’s basketball continues to skyrocket based on the strength of teams like undefeated South Carolina, LSU, Stanford, and the Caitlin Clark-led Iowa team. If you are new to making bracket tips (or just looking for an edge), we’ve got you covered.
March Madness Bracket Tips
#1 March Madness Bracket Tip – Go Heavy early on #1 seeds
It doesn’t matter if you are picking for the women’s basketball bracket or for the men’s bracket. A #16 seed winning is about the odds of one of us winning the Powerball. Just like the movie, Dumb and Dumber, there’s a chance…..but the odds are not in your favor. Over history, a lot of the overall March Madness champions have been #1 seeds too. 76% of the women’s champions have been (even though we saw #3 LSU vs #2 Iowa last year).
#2 March Madness Bracket Tip – Don’t pick too many Cinderellas.
There will be upsets. Guaranteed. Happens every year. There are not many years; however, where Cinderella keeps dancing all the way to the Final Four. Most over-performing teams tend to lose out by the Sweet 16. Make your picks wisely on this front. I like to focus on upsets on high ranking teams that seem to fizzle late in the regular season or their conference tournament. This is no guarantee though.
#3 March Madness Bracket Tip – Try picking your Elite Eight first.
This is like Steven Covey. Begin with the end in mind. Most bracket contests award more points the later in the tournament you go. Getting a strong core in the Elite Eight is key. One way to do this is go heavy on your #1, #2, and #3 seeds in this round of play.
#4 March Madness Bracket Tip – Figure out your #11 and #12 seed upset picks
These seeds tend to pull off the most upsets early and bust brackets. You should pick a few upsets with these seeds in your bracket if you’re feeling it. I would pick at least one to give yourself a shot. Don’t go too crazy. As with most March Madness bracket tips, everything is better in moderation.
#5 March Madness Bracket Tip – Don’t get too serious, but fill out more than one bracket.
Some people get super serious about their brackets. Just check out some of the Reddit threads. It can be a bit much for some folks. I like to not get too serious. Fill out more than one bracket if you just can’t decide between a few key teams. Most of the major bracket challenge contests out there (ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports to name a few) will let you put in multiple entries into the tournament.
What do I Do for March Madness Bracket Picks?
I always like to do one following my favorite team or player. Then, I do one that I’m not emotionally tied to. I like to look at past history of success like Final Four appearances, etc. So, if I was doing a women’s bracket, I would probably do one that is Caitlin Clark and Iowa women’s basketball heavy. Then, I would do another that is more biased to LSU repeating or South Carolina staying undefeated for the 2024 edition of March Madness as an example.
That’s all we have for now for your March Madness bracket tips. Best of luck and enjoy some great men’s and womens’ basketball games.
