I don't claim to be an expert on many things. There are two things that I can break down into it's simplest terms better than anyone. One is the book of Esther in the Bible. It's pretty much my favorite book of the Bible, and I can simplify it for anyone who has questions about it. I used to teach a Sunday School class, and the kids always begged for me to tell the Esther story. One day, I may do it for you faithful readers out there. The other thing is March Madness and the NCAA tournament. I can help anyone with their brackets.
I know a lot of you are going to be in office pools, Internet Bracket Challenges, and other various groups of people who will no doubt try to predict who the National Basketball Champion will be. No doubt, every year you lose to some girl who picked Butler because their coach is so cute. Well, I'm going to guide you through this just enough so that you can have a respectable score because face it, you're not beating the girl who likes Huskies more than Oranges.
1. Don't Get All Crazy With Upsets
The word "upset" in sports is based primarily, although later debunked, on the 1919 defeat of thoroughbred "Man O' War" by a horse named "Upset." Upset has been used before that, it just got popular after the horse race. Yes the NCAA Tournament has upsets of all kinds. Who can forget Hampton beating Iowa State or Coppin State defeating South Carolina? Seems like every year a team gets upset. However, the problem is people don't know which upset to pick. So to save face, they pick all of them. Not a smart move. Upsets are based on match ups. If a strong team is weak in an area that the underdog is strong in, the upset can occur if the coaching is solid enough to exploit it. Your best bet is to look at every match up diligently before making a decision.
2. Home Cooking
The NCAA Tournament has a long standing tradition of giving the better teams the easier travel schedule. For example, Kentucky is probably going to be a 1 seed (unless the selection committee shows up to the meeting room drunk). One of the sites for the first and second rounds is Louisville, Kentucky. Lexington is about an hour and a half from Louisville. So they'll have the easier schedule in the first two rounds. You pick them. You usually go with the teams that don't have to travel as far from round to round. I know Kentucky is an obvious example, however it usually holds true every year that the closer the team to the site, the better the chance they have of advancing.
3. Veteran Guards
It seems like the older the guards a team has, the better their chances of going farther in the tournament. Senior guards are for coaches what food stamps are for homeless people. Find teams with senior guards, they will be your best bet to get through.
4. The Colonial Athletic Association Will Ruin You
George Mason and VCU pretty much screwed up everyone's brackets when they made their Final Four runs. If you see a CAA team in your bracket, take them farther than you thought. If you think they'll lose, they won't.
5. Entertaining Announcers Will Have An Upset
This may take a little bit of research, but you have to find the most entertaining announcer. They will have the nail biters and upset specials. Gus Johnson, aka The Greatest Human That Ever Lived Not Named Jesus, and Len Elmore was notorious for finding the super exciting games and upsets. Gus Johnson is no longer with CBS Sports, so I'm going to say Ian Eagle could be your go-to announcer for the crazy games.
6. Listen to Luther Vandross
It's just kind of inspiring. It really has no intrinsic value on your bracket. And any excuse to play this song is good enough for me. Although I do love Jennifer Hudson, this is Luther's song.
There you go. A few tips to a good bracket. Although like I said before, that pretty girl who thinks a Jackrabbit is an awesome name for a mascot is going to beat you. But you'll at least be first among the people that actually know something about sports.
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