10 fun ways to fill out your NCAA Tournament Bracket

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again. No, not the holiday season — although these days should most definitely be holidays. It’s time to fill out those brackets and watch March Madness wreak havoc on them.

The NCAA Tournament is a mere few days away, which means we’ll all be filling out our brackets in the hopes of taking home bragging rights. But with so many teams in the mix and upsets sure to take place, how does one go about filling out a bracket?

Sure, you could use your “basketball knowledge,” but where’s the fun in that? Here are 10 fun ways to fill out your NCAA Tournament bracket so you can blame the system over your decision-making.

1. All Chalk

OK, let’s get the least fun of these fun ideas out of the way. You can strictly pick the favorites, which, given recent history, probably isn’t a bad strategy. And while it may be a little boring, it’s fun not having to overthink things. It may not be exciting, but winning is fun, and favorites still win more than not despite the litany of Cinderella stories.

2. All Underdogs

Now here’s where the fun really kicks in. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this option, given that No. 1 seeds have been making a living heading to the Final Four and the fact that no 16 seed has advanced even one round to date. However, there’s nothing more fun than rooting for the underdog, so why not pick every underdog? Plus, a 16 is bound to defeat a 1 at some point, right? Right?!?

3. Jersey Colors

Here’s the one you’ve heard about forever. Some person in your office pool liked a certain team’s colors over another, which is how said person picked that absurd upset. It may be cliché, but it’s certainly a fun way to get your fashion sense on. Plus, it’s as good a strategy as any. The only hiccup comes when two teams face off with identical or nearly identical colors.

4. Team Names

There sure are a lot of teams nicknamed the Wildcats — so why not pick all cat-related teams to win? There is not shortage of ideas on this one. Maybe only pick exclusively non-animal mascot teams. Or all-animal mascots. Perhaps nicknames you have no idea what they actually mean are more up your alley. Whatever the case, you can let the nicknames do the deciding for you.

5. Schools Someone You Know Attended

This may be tricky if you have a small family, few friends and don’t leave the house much. But if you know a good number of people who attended a wide spectrum of colleges, this is a fun way to familiarize yourself with your friends’ and loved ones’ alma maters. Plus, you get to bond with those folks by joining them in rooting for their schools. Fun, simple and a way to build comradery with that quiet co-worker.

6. Schools No One You Know Attended

Conversely, you can do the exact opposite. Don’t know anyone who attended Gonzaga? Pick them. Never even heard of Iona? Sounds like a Final Four team to me. There are plenty of schools out there, so no matter how popular you are (or not), there’s no shortage of teams to pick to fill out your bracket.

7. Schools You Know Where They’re Located

Geography can be difficult, but any self-respected basketball fan knows Duke and North Carolina are a stone’s throw away from one another off Tobacco Road. Since you know that, pick them. If you have no idea where, say, Fairleigh Dickson is, stay away. Stick with the Wichita States of the world instead.

8. Schools You Don’t Know Where They’re Located

Again, picking schools you exclusively know where they’re located isn’t your cup of tea, perhaps the opposite may work. Have no clue where Austin Peay me? Me neither. Let’s pick that school to advance. This one may eliminate schools named after where they are, but it will help you brush up on your geography afterward.

9. Regions

Perhaps you’re partial to the West Coast or Northeast. If so, it may be fun to root for your region and only pick teams from that area. Or, for a twist, you can exclusively pick schools located in states you’ve stepped foot in or visited. Heck, you can even do the opposite. Never been to Oregon? The Ducks are a top 10 team. There are almost infinite ways to slice this up, but picking by region can add a little spice your bracket.

10. Coin Flip

What’s more fun than a game of chance? That’s why casinos are in business after all, and who doesn’t get excited for a trip to the blackjack table? Instead of thinking, let the coin do the picking. Heads for one team, tails for the other … and just keep flipping until the bracket is full. Plus, you can decide which team is heads and which is tails any number of ways: heads for favorites/tails for underdogs and vice versa, regions, locations — heck, any of the previous ways to fill out your bracket mentioned above can be used to decide heads and tails. Just make sure to let the coin do the actual picking, because games of chance are fun.