Ready To Embrace The Madness? Helpful Hints To Filling Out NCAA Tournament Brackets
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- March Madness is upon us.
And that means folks are getting ready to fill out brackets. CBS2's Alice Gainer has some helpful and not so helpful hints.
It's not quite time to fill them out yet. In fact, we won't know all 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament until Sunday night. But many fans are already getting in the competitive mindset and strategizing.
"Every team I used to pick … it always turned out to be so far off base because you never can tell. That's why March Madness is beautiful, because you never know what's going to happen next," said Vincent Barile of Manhattan.
Indeed, brackets often go bust unexpectedly. Last year, it came down to a No. 7 and No. 8 seed, with No. 7 Connecticut winning it all.
So what's a bracketeer to do?
"I used to do it based on the mascots when I was younger," said Josh Rocco of Tenafly, New Jersey," adding when asked if that method ever worked, "A little bit. Not really though, I wouldn't recommend it. I definitely recommend doing your research."
"I usually pick the teams I've heard of throughout the year," said Katherine Adams of Dallas, who admittedly has never won her pool.
"My friend did most of it because she watches basketball," said Nathaoyn Sanchez of Manhattan.
Did it work?
"No, actually she lost halfway through. It was horrible," Sanchez said.
Dr. Harris Stratyner said while filling out a bracket may seem innocent enough, there's a dark side to it, too, especially for those with gambling problems.
"Men like the adrenaline of gambling. Women do it more to self-medicate and take their mind off stress," Dr. Stratyner said. "They will say to me, 'oh I'm just playing the brackets, you know, I'm just doing Final Four. Come on doc, what's the big deal?' It is a big deal. So is playing the Lotto."
The Lavier family from Portland, Oregon plays as a family, without money.
"We play for fun. You kind of get bragging rights in the house," Zack Lavier said.
So what's their winning family strategy?
"My sister does better. She wins it every year off mascots," Lavier said.
So in summary, Gainer found there is no proven method to the madness, so good luck.
To compete in the CBS2 Bracket Challenge against big names like our Otis Livingston for a chance to win $5,000, check CBSNewYork.com after the field is announced.
