Of course, if you are a red-blooded American, you not only should have a bracket filled out ready for today's excitement but several filled out. The one you will view here is my 6th and final bracket before the games begin (Wait, we are done with the first round already? That was so exciting when Vermont and Western Kentucky won the right to lose by 23 to North Carolina and Kentucky, respectively). Here is the link to my bracket of choice:
With any tournament bracket, the reason you fill out multiple brackets is so you can show loyalty to your school and at the same time face reality. With that said, here are some of the rules to go by and how I interpreted them.
1. Take your home team as long as you can conceivably take them.
This is an interesting issue for Indiana fans this year because we have beaten the best team in basketball. That means that if IU fans are doing their bracket with pure loyalty then the Hoosiers are cutting down the nets in April. I am not so sure about that, but I certainly have them going pretty deep (Elite 8 versus Baylor--probably a little too hopeful, but I cheer for the home team).
2. Stick with your conference.
This is a really tough thing to do, but it's the right thing. If you come from a smaller conference (like the Horizon League), you need to cheer for Detroit-- even if you don't have them winning in your bracket. This is even tougher in the Big 10 because I really hate Ohio St. So what I do is cheer for the teams I don't have too much beef with (Michigan, Michigan St, Wisconsin) and then continue to hate Ohio St. (I have them out of the Sweet 16 from Florida St.) I feel this is a good compromise.
3. Stick with your state.
I feel very strongly about this, and I get a lot of flack for it. I cheer for Purdue in the tournament. I get that they are our arch rivals and all, but they are a part of the state of Indiana. And Indiana should always represent well in The Big Dance. This applies to every Indiana school, no matter how small (I was putting Butler in the Sweet 16 of my brackets long before they belonged there and well before I met Mrs. Messy Shelves-- a Butler grad). So whether it's Notre Dame, E-ville, Indiana State, Valpo, IUPUI, Butler, Ball State (ha, yeah right), Purdue, or IU; I cheer for Indiana. In 49 states it's just basketball. So get over it and show Notre Dame some support as they get upset by Xavier.
By the way I have Notre Dame and Purdue both escaping their 7-10 match-ups and then losing to some of the bigwigs. I feel I could have taken a Notre Dame upset over Duke, but I need to keep that kind of mojo to get IU into the Elite 8 or beyond. Sorry Notre Dame, but I will be rooting for you.
4. Never cheer for Kentucky or Duke EVER and get them out of the tourney as soon possible.
Duke sucks. I have a couple of people close to me who went to Duke, and it's a fine school. But I don't think they should even cheer for the Blue Devils. That's how much I don't like them. IU beat Duke in the Sweet 16 of 2002 on their way to the final game. They won two other games against Kent State and Oklahoma, but no game was as sweet as the Duke game. Indiana fans uprooted trees that night. I was a freshman and it was crazy. One guy electrocuted himself because he grabbed a power line and then hit the ground with it. The next year IU was voted biggest party school. Do you think that was a coincidence? No, we beat Duke and loved it. I love it every year when they lose. I still feel bad that I didn't have Notre Dame upsetting them.
As far as the Kentucky issue, if you don't understand the Indiana/Kentucky rivalry just watch ESPN for the highlights from this season. I was actually upset when Vandy beat Kentucky for the SEC title because it felt so good that the Hoosiers were the only team to beat Kentucky. I can't wait to see them again in the Sweet 16.
5. Never trust the pundits (especially Jay Bilas).
Really Jay, you think it's all Number One seeds in the Final Four. Man how does that guy get paid? He's worse than the weather man. But really when you fill out your bracket you need to have a flair for the dramatic or random. It should be an informed randomness (Southern Mississippi is probably not going to the Final Four), but randomness none the less. Every year, some team throws everybody's bracket under duress (Valpo, Davidson, George Mason, VCU, Butler TWICE) and that's the way it will always be. Your little sister will probably get more picks right because of the pretty team jersey color than you if you simply put down what Andy Katz, Jay Bilas, or Barack Obama puts down(an impressively informed basketball fan-- what is he doing in that White House anyway?).
Who is my "Random Team That Really Has No Business Going This Far"? I have two. Harvard and Belmont. There are some logical reasons why (Harvard has had a remarkable season on several levels and want to take it further; Belmont's playing perennial failures Georgetown), but I really just had a gut feeling and went with. You should always do that once, so you're welcome Harvard and Belmont. I did it twice. One of you is screwed.
If you fallow these 5 rules you will not have success in the tourney, but you will have peace of mind when you are cheering on Colorado State guiltlessly towards the upset. Never pick all number one seeds. With that said, go Florida State and Baylor. Make me a genius. Watch the games everybody. Nobody knows this, but the games are secretly the best part. Go team.
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