Monday, March 14, 2005

Bracket Advice

I was gonna hold off on doing this because I didn't wanted anyone stealing the secret to my success, but then I realized I never do well in these things. Maybe if everyone listens to me, I have a better chance to win. By the way, follow the link two posts below to sign up. Here's some things I think about and advice for doing the bracket:
  • The faster I do the bracket, the better off I am. I believe I completed this years bracket in less than a minute. I once knew a lot about college basketball and did plenty of research before filling the bracket out. That year I came in last place out of a group of about fifty. No more thinking.
  • The time you save by not thinking about the bracket should be spent on thinking of a creative team name. I did not follow this advice this year. I'm looking into changing the name of my team, but I'm afraid that's bad luck.
  • A good choice for an upset is a team that plays a unique defense or offense. It throws the other team off. Unfortunately, Temple and Princeton aren't in, but Syracuse and it's zone defense is.
  • The Pac 10 and SEC kill me every year. They're either overrated or underrated and always sure to screw up my bracket. Arizona should have a lifetime ban for what they've done to me.
  • Lucky me, LSU may play Arizona.
  • Respect teams you don't see on ESPN all the time. With so many stars leaving school early or skipping it all together, major conferences just aren't as strong. These teams I know nothing about are usually loaded with seniors who really know their teammates and system.
  • Try to pick teams that you like. Sure you might not do as well, but do you really want to root for Bobby Knight?
  • This brings me to the Duke Dilemma: I despise everything about Duke and pray that they lose in the first round. But they make it to the Final Four so often, so how do you make your picks? If you have an answer let me know.
  • If you picked Tennessee to win, you're filling out the Women's Bracket.
  • If you picked Maryland to win, you're filling out the NIT Bracket.
  • If you picked Manchester United to win, you live in Key West.
  • Don't try to fill out your brackets after the games start. My friend did try to do this.
  • Avoid good teams with poor free throw shooting. If you know of any, let me know.
  • Pick teams with good backcourts.
  • When Billy Packer speaks, press mute.
  • Only a few teams in each major conference deserve respect. If a team ended up in the middle of the pack in its conference, it probably won't do anything, unless its best player has returned from a long injury (hint, hint).
  • So Washington's a number one seed? Before yesterday, I didn't even know they had a winning record.
  • Is it still bold to pick Gonzaga?

Guess that's it for now.

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