March Madness Primer
March Madness Important Dates
Opening Round/Play-in Game: March 16
First Round: March 18-19
Second Round: March 20-21
Regional Semi-final Round: March 25-26
Regional Final: March 27-28
Final Four: April 3
Championship Game Date: April 5
Best Advice for filling out your bracket
I’ve scoured the Internet for some of the best NCAA Bracket advice plus I’ve added my own.
Don’ t forget the Play-In game Tuesday night – most brackets ask for it, don’t give up a free point.
Don’t be afraid to be boring late – 10 number one seeds have been in the final four in the past 5 years.
Pick Sienna – They are good and the Boilermakers are missing their top player and around the office you’ll look sharp for picking a 13 over a 4.
Don’t pick Butler – the Bulldogs are good but nowhere near as good as UTEP, remember there is always at least one 12 over 5 upset.
Pick all number ones and twos in the first round – No number one has ever lost and only 4 number 2s have gone out in their first game.
Don’t pick teams by the animal on the front of the jersey or the color of the jersey but encourage others to do so.
Sexy Picks for the early rounds
Sienna Saints
Baylor Bears
Georgetown Hoyas
Xavier Musketeers
Ugly Picks
Purdue Boilermakers
Butler Bulldogs
Winner of the play-in game
Most improved team in the tournament
Kentucky (+11, factoring in both wins and losses)
Murray State (+9.5)
Georgia Tech (+8.5)
Wofford (+8)
Worst-record teams in the tournament
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (17-15)
Houston (19-15)
East Tennessee State (20-14)
Winthrop (19-13)
Teams with the longest current winning streaks
Butler (20 games)
Wofford (13 games)
North Texas (11 games)
Teams with the highest share of in-state players
University of California, Santa Barbara (85.6 percent)
San Diego State (77 percent)
Morgan State (77 percent)
Teams with most foreign players
St. Mary’s College of California (5) all from Australia
Vanderbilt (4), from Nigeria, Australia, Cameroon, and Sweden
Temple (4), from Argentina, Israel, Virgin Islands, Nigeria
Highest scoring teams
Brigham Young, 83.5 points per game (second best in the nation after VMI)
Villanova, 82.5 ppg
Kansas, 82.2 ppg
Highest scoring players
Aubrey Coleman of Houston, 25.9 points per game (national scoring champion)
Luke Harangody of Notre Dame, 22.8 ppg
“Big Game” James Anderson, Oklahoma State, 22.6 ppg
I will post my full bracket tomorrow but my final four is
East – Kentucky Wildcats
Midwest – Kansas Jayhawks
West – Syracuse Orangemen
South – Baylor Bears
Finals – Syracuse over Baylor
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