Spring Break
Move over midterms, make way for Madness
Issue date: 3/13/08
March Midterm Madness is over here at Hopkins, so let the basketball March Madness begin. On Sunday, the NCAA Selection Committee for the Men's Division-I college basketball tournament will pick the 65 teams that will compete in the single elimination competition to determine the national champion. Shortly thereafter, millions around the country will try to guess the winners of 64 games, with a list of schools ranging from the well-known to the relatively obscure.
March Madness, as it has been called for decades now, manages to capture the hearts and minds of people everywhere, not just sports fans. American companies stand to lose billions of dollars in lost wages and productivity from workers who spend more time deciding which mid-major's backcourt could potentially upend an ACC powerhouse's than working on TPS reports.
Many feel there is no skill involved in picking a winning bracket and that it is completely luck. But I, as an avid basketball fan who has placed in the top two in every pool I have entered for the last three years, think that there is a science to the Madness. Below are a few bracketology tips which should come in handy come Sunday.
1) Pick Your Own Bracket.
I know that many of us are tempted to base our picks off professional analysis and create mimic brackets of so-called "experts." But if everyone in your pool has virtually the same bracket, when an upset happens that "experts" cannot foresee, the smart bracketeer who went against the grain will come out on top.
Another key is not to take advice from friends or family, who may actually know less than you do or could be throwing a smokescreen at you in an attempt to make you pick an almost surefire loser. I learned the family part of this at an early age. When I showed my dad the first bracket I ever filled out, which had Bucknell, a 14-seed, defeating Kansas, a three-seed, my dad harshly criticized the stupidity of the pick. Going on his confidence, I switched, making Kansas the victor and then having them ride that "automatic" win into the elite eight. Sure enough, Bucknell defeated Kansas 64-63, and I was left shaking my head as my new elite eight pick Kansas was sent back to Lawrence.
March Madness, as it has been called for decades now, manages to capture the hearts and minds of people everywhere, not just sports fans. American companies stand to lose billions of dollars in lost wages and productivity from workers who spend more time deciding which mid-major's backcourt could potentially upend an ACC powerhouse's than working on TPS reports.
Many feel there is no skill involved in picking a winning bracket and that it is completely luck. But I, as an avid basketball fan who has placed in the top two in every pool I have entered for the last three years, think that there is a science to the Madness. Below are a few bracketology tips which should come in handy come Sunday.
1) Pick Your Own Bracket.
I know that many of us are tempted to base our picks off professional analysis and create mimic brackets of so-called "experts." But if everyone in your pool has virtually the same bracket, when an upset happens that "experts" cannot foresee, the smart bracketeer who went against the grain will come out on top.
Another key is not to take advice from friends or family, who may actually know less than you do or could be throwing a smokescreen at you in an attempt to make you pick an almost surefire loser. I learned the family part of this at an early age. When I showed my dad the first bracket I ever filled out, which had Bucknell, a 14-seed, defeating Kansas, a three-seed, my dad harshly criticized the stupidity of the pick. Going on his confidence, I switched, making Kansas the victor and then having them ride that "automatic" win into the elite eight. Sure enough, Bucknell defeated Kansas 64-63, and I was left shaking my head as my new elite eight pick Kansas was sent back to Lawrence.
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