Do This And Win Your March Madness Office Pool

There are lots of strategies to use in the quest for the perfect NCAA tournament bracket, but the experts seem to agree that there is only one sure-fire way to predict the most winners.  The odds are truly in your favor.

If you're planning to fill out a bracket full of upsets it's likely to be a big mess.  Will there be upsets in the NCAA tournament?  Yes!  But the odds of picking the upsets without ruining the rest of the bracket are pretty slim.

We're supposed to forget about the sneaky, sexy picks and go with what the oddsmakers say instead.  The oddsmakers are pretty accurate at determining the favorites of each game and the tournament as a whole because it's what they do for a living. The oddsmakers don't always pick the highest seeds as the favorites to win, and if there is going to be an upset they will likely be predicting it and we should pay attention.  The Vegas oddsmakers will be the best guide for filling out our brackets.

Some of us always pick the highest seeds.  Others pick our favorite teams or favorite mascots.  I always use the strategy "when in doubt, pick the blue teams," because they always seem to win.  It has nothing at all to do with the popularity of the blue uniform color I'm sure.  Blue is just superior.  And look at the favored teams this year: Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina all sport some shade of blue.  Tennessee has no chance.

It's all in good fun at the office, right?  We're not saying you should gamble your life savings away during March Madness or anything.  It's just what we do this time of year and we want to help you earn bragging rights among your red-team-picking co-workers.

So....if you really want a near-perfect bracket, go with what the oddsmakers say.  Also, trust in a team's championship experience and pedigree and believe that history will take them deep into the tournament again.  And after we employ those strategies, Business Insider says we can pick according to the mascot, personal grudge, or fight song. That's not so scientific, but perhaps more fun.

And when in doubt, always pick the blue teams!  Good luck.