Tips to Win Your March Madness Pool
Mentions: Office Pools
Are you sick of having a coworker becoming known as the resident sports expert, after taking down the annual March Madness office pool? It's time to take matters into your own hands. The following tips will help to give you an edge...
In order to win your office pool, the most important thing that you need to do is to understand the tournament rules. Some pools require picking the winners in every bracket; others go by the point spread, and some require you to find that elusive cinderella story.
According to ESPN's analysts, you should start by choosing winners bracket by bracket and avoid the temptation to start with the National Champion or the Final Four teams. By choosing finalists when you first look at your bracket, it may cause you to overlook some strong early-round picks.
How do you find the next cinderella story? Consult the Sagarin ratings in "USA Today" or the rating percentage index at CBS SportsLine (cbs.sportsline.com) to see how teams compare with one another. Always pick teams from stronger leagues, if you are torn between two picks. You can find a great list of conference power rankings at espn.com. Moreover, look for upsets when teams have a regional home court advantage and try to pick teams that have not just competed in a grueling conference tournament (e.g., the Big 10, Big East, or SEC tourneys), because these teams may be worn out by the time they get to the dance.
Historically, teams that have made it to the Final Four or the Finals in the prior year's tournament, have had a strong chance of winning it all (a little extra motivation!). One final tip from your friends at BetPool.com: always pick a 12th round seed to win in the first round-- it happens almost every year.
Live life well,
Ronin
In order to win your office pool, the most important thing that you need to do is to understand the tournament rules. Some pools require picking the winners in every bracket; others go by the point spread, and some require you to find that elusive cinderella story.
According to ESPN's analysts, you should start by choosing winners bracket by bracket and avoid the temptation to start with the National Champion or the Final Four teams. By choosing finalists when you first look at your bracket, it may cause you to overlook some strong early-round picks.
How do you find the next cinderella story? Consult the Sagarin ratings in "USA Today" or the rating percentage index at CBS SportsLine (cbs.sportsline.com) to see how teams compare with one another. Always pick teams from stronger leagues, if you are torn between two picks. You can find a great list of conference power rankings at espn.com. Moreover, look for upsets when teams have a regional home court advantage and try to pick teams that have not just competed in a grueling conference tournament (e.g., the Big 10, Big East, or SEC tourneys), because these teams may be worn out by the time they get to the dance.
Historically, teams that have made it to the Final Four or the Finals in the prior year's tournament, have had a strong chance of winning it all (a little extra motivation!). One final tip from your friends at BetPool.com: always pick a 12th round seed to win in the first round-- it happens almost every year.
Live life well,
Ronin
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