March Madness bracket tip sheet: Your guide to NCAA tournament
A one-stop shop for the NCAA tournament with all the analysis and insight you'll need to win your office pool and thrive during the craziness that is March Madness.
First off, you'll definitely need a bracket. You can print one here. Next, make sure you create your own bracket pool and invite your friends to join in our Bracket Challenge. Before we forget, let us introduce you to the 68 teams dancing this March and the No. 1 seeds: Villanova, Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
Expert picks: Nicole Auerbach | Scott Gleeson | Shelby Mast | Eddie Timanus
And here's some do's and dont's that you need to know before starting to fill out your NCAA tournament bracket.
Here's region-by-region breakdowns that dissect each team’s strengths/weaknesses, current winning/losing streak and each team’s best player or recipe for a win.
REGIONAL ANALYSIS: East | Midwest | South | West
Our colleagues at For The Win! were tracking the selection show as well. Here are 10 things you need to know for filling out your bracket. They also projected three big upsets in the opening round. And here are four teams that got unfairly underseeded in this year's Big Dance.
Now that you’re on the path to office pool success, there’s so much more if you want it.
Here's the best of USA TODAY Sports' NCAA tournament coverage:
► Bracket tips: Adam Woodard has you covered with some friendly advice and basic dos and don'ts for filling out your bracket.
► Surging squads: These 8 teams are on fire heading into the NCAA tournament and are poised for a deep run.
► Ballers on budgets: Our friends at the Courier-Journal describe how NCAA tournament travel can be a budget buster for players' families.
► Future headlines: Predicting the NCAA tournament Cinderellas, sleepers and busts.
► Don't talk to Chuck: Charles Barkley admits he's never won his bracket pool.
► Vegas: Duke and North Carolina are your best gambling bets, go figure.
► Cinderella? Here's why Vermont has the bracket-busting recipe.
► For the Win: Our colleagues across the aisle at FTW were tracking the selection show as well. Here are 10 things you need to know for filling out your bracket. They also projected three big upsets in the opening round. And here are four teams that got unfairly underseeded in this year's Big Dance.
► March Sadness: The sad side of the bubble was dealt to several teams, namely last year's Final Four finisher Syracuse and mid-major darling Illinois State. Gleeson reports on the six biggest snubbed teams. Meanwhile, the NIT did its best to troll Jim Boeheim.
► Assessing the selection committee: Auerbach, USA TODAY Sports' national college basketball reporter, felt the NCAA tournament committee made the right calls near the top. Mast, USA TODAY Sports' bracketologist, got 68 of 68 teams in the field correct on Selection Sunday, but definitely disagrees with the selection committee on some decisions. He provides three things the committee got right and three things it got wrong.
► History: Northwestern punched its first-ever NCAA tournament ticket in program history. National columnist Nancy Armour was in Evanston to cover the emotional moments for the Wildcats, who drew a No. 8 seed, at a Selection Sunday party.
► Father-son-duo: Louisville coach Rick Pitino and his son, Minnesota coach Richard Pitino, made history by becoming the first father-son tandem to be in the same NCAA field.
► Key advice: Auerbach talked to college basketball's biggest names and asked them what they'd say to their younger selves.
► Short shorts: Daniel Uthman reports that the fashion trend is making a comeback.
NOSTALGIA: Here’s a blast from the past to get die-hard fans hyped.
- The worst snubs in NCAA tournament history
- Top March Madness teams of all-time
- Top March Madness moments of all-time
- NCAA tourney players you love to hate
- Best Cinderella teams of all-time
If you’ve still got an appetite for more, tweet us at @USATODAYSports or follow us on Facebook and we’ll direct you to our college hoops specialists.
ALL 68 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS IN ACTION
