March Madness!

I love March.  March means the first day of Spring, the daffodils are popping up all over… and college basketball teams square off in March Madness.  I’m a huge college basketball fan – not just of my beloved Hawks but of the sport in general.  There’s too much ego in the NBA, but in college basketball, you can just feel the heart these kids have for the game and it makes it so fun to watch.

When I started college, I didn’t know much about college basketball – but I was learning.  Facebook had just come out, and that March they started the Facebook Bracket Challenge.  With no background on any of the teams – I was left to come up with my own rules.  Now I can make a pretty serious bracket, but I still follow these rules on at least one bracket when March comes around. 

Cassie’s Rules for March Madness

1) First and foremost: if Saint Joe’s is in the tournament – no matter what they are seeded – THEY WIN THE TOURNAMENT.  No questions asked.

2) Secondly, and just as importantly – Villanova and Temple always lose in the first round.  Always.

2a) If for whatever reason, Temple and Villanova play each other in the first round… Villanova loses.  Period.

3) Always have pride for your fellow Atlantic 10 league schools.  If SJU isn’t in the tournament, pick an A-10 team to win the tournament.  (Unless it’s Temple.  See rule 2.)

4) Similarly, have pride for the fellow Jesuit schools in the tournament.  Best case scenario – if SJU isn’t in the tourney, and Xavier is in the tournament… pick X to win.  A-10 pride + Jesuit pride = double whammy.

5) If a family member’s or a friend’s alma mater is in the tournament, make sure they do well.  The level of friendship with the friend determines how well their team does.  For example – one year my MOH’s alma mater – Cal Berkeley was in the tournament.  I’m pretty sure I remember taking them to the finals that year.  But if it’s simply a friendly acquaintance from high school, only take their team as far as they can go before they meet another team that fulfills one of the requirements above.

6) There is another girl out there who has the exact same first name and last name as I do.  She graduated from the University of Illinois.  While I’ve never met the other Cassie, her school gets decent rank in my bracket. 

7) I was born in Missouri, and raised in New Jersey.  If Mizzou (or any other Missouri) school is in the tournament, that gives them some weight.  The same can be said with Princeton, or any other Jersey school.  (well except Rutgers.  I’m not a huge fan of Rutgers.)

I’m also a big fan of Cinderella teams – aka underdog teams that make a great run in the tournament.  Of course, no one can predict a Cinderella team before the start of the tournament, so if there is a team that has made a fairy tale run in the tournament in the past few years, I tend to favor them as well.  (i.e. George Mason and Butler)

9) If all else fails, follow your gut.  There are some games that don’t follow any of the criteria above, but just go with your first guess!

So what does a bracket that follows these rules look like after the first 3 rounds?

After this past week, my bracket is pretty dead (as you can see) but it was still so fun to put it together.  I look forward to it every year, and miss the days of the Facebook Bracket Challenge!  I might not have much left for the next few rounds, but that doesn’t mean it’s not exciting!

Do you make a bracket?  How do you choose your teams?  Besides this bracket – I also pick a “real” one… although Villanova still lost in the first round – and that seemed to be a good prediction on my part!