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Here are tips and tricks to filling out a good NCAA tournament bracket

It's hard to predict who will win each NCAA tournament game but history will help us make our picks

WASHINGTON — It’s time to fill out your tournament bracket!

First things first ... trust the facts and stay away from your gut. The NCAA Tournament is hard as heck to predict but here are some tips to help you make your picks.

Bracket 101

If you look at your bracket you will notice that each team has a number next to its name. That seeding number gives you an idea of how good a team is. The higher seeds are the favorites and the lower seeds, like 15 or 16, are the underdogs.   

Work backward

I would suggest filling out your bracket starting with the elite eight or final four first. It's critical to note that games become more valuable as the tournament progresses. So, if you pick the correct final four and champion, you’ll probably win the pool, no matter what happens in the previous rounds. According to BracketResearch.com, in the last 33 tournaments, the champion has been a top No. 3 seed.

RELATED: Sign Up for the 2021 WUSA9 Bracket Challenge and have a chance at winning $1,500

Upset Alert

Best believe ... upsets do happen. That’s why they call it March Madness. However, let me make this very clear, do not pick a No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed. Although it happened in 2018, when a 16 seed UMBC upset No. 1 seed, Virginia, the odds of that happening again is incredibly unlikely -- 1-139 to be exact.  

RELATED: UMBC stuns Virginia to make NCAA tournament history as first No. 16 seed to win game

A No. 1 is Not Always The Best Seed

Don’t pick all four No. 1 seeds to make the final four. There has only been one Final Four in which all four No. 1 seeds made it. That was in 2008, when Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA were all there. 

Getting the Deuces

You may want to avoid picking all the No. 2 seeds to make the sweet sixteen. It’s only happened twice in the last 24 years. 

Picking a No. 8 or No. 9 seed is a coin flip but pick them to lose in the next round. Rarely do they ever win the next round against a No. 1 seed. The Ringer found that from 2002 to 2018 the top seeds have won a combined 85% of their games against No. 8 or No. 9 seeded teams.

5 vs. 12 Matchup

Pick at least one No. 12 seed to beat a No. 5 seed. 12 seeds have won at least one first-round game in 30 of the last 35 tournaments. 

RELATED: Georgetown's winning chances | Stats show being a No. 12 seed could play in the Hoyas favor

The only times there wasn’t a 5-12 upset during that time: 1988, 2000, 2007, 2015 and 2018. 

In 2019, Murray State, Oregon and Liberty all won as No. 12 seeds, and the Ducks made it to the Sweet Sixteen. 

The message here? Numbers do lie ... sometimes.

Look at the Line

Look at the betting line. According to Oddshark, since 1996, the opening round favorite won 74.8% of the time. Teams favored by five points or more won 85.4 percent of the time. However, teams favored by less than five, only won 55.3% of games — that’s close to a coin flip.

The Best Coast

According to Sports Betting Dime, 21 of the past 22 NCAA champions have been schools from the eastern time zone.

Color Code

If you want make your picks based on team colors. Blue and maroon have had the most success in the tournament since 1985. FYI, Gonzaga, Michigan and Illinois are three of the favorites and have blue in the uniform color.

Mascots

If you’re making your picks based on mascots, you probably shouldn’t be picking brackets. However, mythical mascots are the most successful and dogs have a better record against cats. That settles that debate.

Don’t stress yourself out. This is not the SAT or Bar Exam. It’s the NCAA tournament. So it’s supposed to be fun — with a little trash-talking when you make the right pick.

RELATED: Sign Up for the 2021 WUSA9 Bracket Challenge

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