March Madness Bracket Advice: 5 Dos and Don'ts for Your NCAA Tournament Bracket

There's more than one way to skin a cat, and the same is true for filling out March Madness brackets. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a first-time bracket filler, these five proven March Madness strategies will help you build a winning NCAA Tournament bracket.

With the tournament about to begin today, lock in for some last-minute advice.

Fill out SBR's free printable March Madness bracket to play along with us!

📝 Five dos and don'ts for your March Madness bracket

✅ DO: Trust your mind over alma mater

One of the worst ways one can fill out their bracket is with their heart. It's easy to do with an alma mater, no matter how many times our universities burned us before. We've all been guilty of picking our favorite school to advance further than realistically possible, so please, temper your expectations this year.

It's fine to ride your fandom for a couple of rounds, but it's unlikely that your alma mater - which likely flamed out in their conference tournament - will be the one to knock off Auburn or Duke. Sometimes, fans just need a gentle reminder of that harsh reality before writing their picks in pen.

We're not advocating you root against your school; we just want to remind you to keep a level head. If you think it'd take a miracle or a perfect game for your favorite group to beat the blue blood, chances are, they're going to lose. Be smart with your selections, especially when your former school or favorite university is involved.

❌ DON'T: Ignore superstars for small schools

Some people are simply built for March - looking at you, Jimmer Fredette and Kemba Walker. We have countless examples over the years of consistent scorers rising to the occasion during the NCAA Tournament, be it a Wooden Award odds favorite or a scrappy small forward from a SoCon school. 

One thing you do not want to do is ignore these players. These stars are indicators of potential Cinderella teams, and paying attention to them can set you up for success in your bracket pool.

A recent example is Max Abmas leading 15-seed Oral Roberts to a Sweet 16 appearance. The shifty guard averaged an NCAA-leading 24.5 points per game in 2020-21, enough to eventually lead the Golden Eagles on a deep tournament run despite being a double-digit seed.

Game-changers can come from any conference, so read up on some potential stars before writing any team off in March.

Our Andrew Reid identifies ways to predict March Madness upsets.

✅ DO: Lock in your late-round selections

Anybody filling out a bracket must decide the outcome of 63 tournament games. Among those, 32 come in the opening round, and while that may seem important given those contests make up more than 50% of the bracket, they are the least valuable picks.

Fans spend most of their time mulling over the Round of 64 matchups, when in reality, the late stages hold the most weight. Correctly predicting Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship matchups is imperative to any potential pool-topping picker.

While early-round upsets grab headlines, it’s the late rounds that make or break your bracket. So don't make the mistake of spending too much time over-analyzing the first round. Instead, research historical patterns relating to the second and third weekends of the tournament. If you nail the late-round field, you have a better chance at succeeding.

❌ DON'T: Pick winners solely based on records

"What's each team's record?" is a question we've all heard from a family member or friend when helping them fill out a bracket. While this has surely been a profitable strategy for some, it doesn't have a solid success rate overall.

High Point (29-5) appears better than Mississippi State (21-12) on paper, but the latter plays in the country's best conference. The latest KenPom rankings tell us that the Bulldogs played one of the 15 toughest schedules this season, while the Panthers sit just inside the top 300 by that same metric.

All of this isn't to say High Point couldn't beat Mississippi State. Rather, we're encouraging you to do your research and provide context to surface-level statistics. Going deeper and using popular analytics - such as KenPom rankings - help identify stylistic mismatches, potential upsets, and sleeper selections.

✅ DO: Predict a chalk champion

Nobody likes to take the chalk route. It leaves you feeling uneasy and as if you're unable to separate yourself from the crowd. However, picking a chalk champion to win pays off more often than not. It's ultimately proven to be one of the most successful ways to win a bracket pool.

The desire to be different may be strong, but statistics tell us it's safer to stick with a popular champion pick. No. 1 seeds have won 13 of the last 17 national titles and 25 of 39 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Even though this is one of just 63 outcomes you'll have to predict throughout March Madness, it's the single-most important selection you have to make. Don't get too cute with your champion. Go with your gut, ride the trends, and don't be afraid to get chalky.

Our Esten McLaren details the March Madness odds following Selection Sunday's bracket reveal.

Printable 2025 March Madness bracket

Here is our FREE and printable 2025 March Madness bracket. Click the image below to download and print the bracket before filling in your best predictions:

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