Federal bracketeering charges

Now that the field is set for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, I'm prepared for one of my favorite times of the year.

For the next three weeks, 68 teams will compete for the right to be crowned national champion. Many of the games are likely to be thrillers that showcase the intense emotions and huge implications that are brought about with each bounce of the ball, but there is another special part of the tournament that goes far beyond the lifelong dreams of any hard working college basketball player.

I'm speaking, of course, about the filling out of my bracket.

While most of the teams in this year's tournament don't have to get things going until Thursday or Friday, the next 56 hours are among the most nerve-racking of my entire year. Each pick carries with it the weight of whatever grand prize I'm playing for as every correctly predicted upset or perceived meltdown in the early rounds can be just as vital as calling the overall champion. Every bit of intensity that I show in rooting for my favorite team as a fan - Duke - will be repeated in every game of the tournament as I throw all of my rooting effort into pulling for No. 11 seeds which I can neither locate on a map, nor name any player on its roster for the last decade.

Another quirk that goes along with each year's bracket pool is the number of entries that are turned in. I'm not just talking about a small office pool compared to an ESPN or Yahoo! Sports pool with tens of thousands of competitors, but also the rules that govern whatever pool I'm getting into.

Some people choose to allow multiple entries from pool competitors. These people are godless heathens.

The point of winning the bracket pool is not only to get the prize at the end, but also to obtain bragging rights over everyone else in the pool for the next year. I strictly forbid it in any pool that I ever run and decline entry into any other pool that promotes this horrible practice.

However, I live by the hard and fast rule of "Work Smarter, not Harder", so I am also looking to win any pool I'm in. Therefore, I've decided that I will continue to avoid pools that allow for multiple entries, but that I will also enter into many different pools with a differing prediction of some of the toughest games to call on each of my final selection sheets.

Winning any one of the pools that I enter will far outweigh the shame of losing all the others combined, so I am more than willing to put picks that go against my better judgment in 90 percent of my brackets to increase the probability that one of them will pay off at the end.

Any of you who know me are also aware that I am prone to over-thinking my picks, and so I've come up with a way to circumvent that shortfall as well.

For everyone competing in a pool with me, I'll save you a lot of pouring through stat sheets and post some (over)thinking points regarding teams in this year's field. I'm not saying that I'm acting on all of these tips, but if you read them and second guess yourself while filling out your own picks, then all the better for me.

Enjoy:

Ohio St. - In a season that has many of the talking head claiming that there are no dominant teams, the Buckeyes are the closes thing to a sure bet to make the Final Four. Ohio St. has been in the top-5 all season and has spent almost all of the last two months at the top of the polls. The Buckeyes secured the overall No. 1 seed, but also looks to have drawn the toughest bracket. Kentucky, Syracuse and North Carolina all stand between Ohio St. and a trip to Houston, and with only 6 or 7 contributing players, the Bucks are just an injury or a fast-paced game away from bowing out early.


Duke - Along with Ohio St., Duke was one of the only teams to actually retain a No. 1 ranking for more than a couple of weeks this season. The Blue Devils are the defending champs and have a relatively easy looking road ahead of them. Potential land mines for Duke include No. 4 seed Texas that has show the ability to play much better than its positioning indicates and a long trip out west for the final two rounds of its region.

Pittsburgh - The Panthers are once again a top seed, but I think that most people have given up on them as a title threat. Pittsburgh has been one of the most consistently great programs in the country over the last 5-6 years, yet hasn't so much as sniffed a Final Four. Pittsburgh was looking good as a dark-horse title contender (if that's possible for a No. 1 seed), but quickly brought back doubters with a quick exit from the Big East tournament.


North Carolina - Just a week ago, North Carolina was a trendy Final Four pick. The Tar Heels tore through the final three weeks of the regular season to win the regular season ACC title, but struggled mightily against inferior competition twice in the tournament before being pummeled by Duck in the tournament championship game. Carolina has an NBA-caliber front line and one of the best players in the nation in Harrison Barnes, but it could all spell disaster for your bracket. The Heels are good enough to win it all, but immature and inconsistent enough to run into trouble from the get-go as they face high-scoring Long Island in the first round.

UConn - Connecticut is a potential trap as a No. 3 seed. The Huskies may have peaked too early as they stumbled down the stretch, but then seemed to regain their form in winning the Big East tournament. National Player of the Year candidate Kemba Walker and a good draw could put UConn in line for a Final Four run, but Walker has a tendency to take far too many shots and an off night will put the Huskies in a tough spot.

Notre Dame - The Fighting Irish might be the best team that no one is talking about as a threat to win it all. Notre Dame has been in the top-10 almost all season and has been one of the most consistent teams in the country, counting a two-game road losing streak to fellow tournament participants Marquette and St. John's as its low point. The two biggest threats standing between the Irish and a Final Four are No. 1 seed Kansas and Louisville - which defeated Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Big East tournament.

Utah St. - Every tournament needs a good upset by a No. 12 seed and this could be a big one. Utah St. enters the tournament at 30-3 and, despite a pretty easy schedule and no marquee wins, played very well in its showdown at No. 3 seed BYU. Conversely, some fans are getting behind the Aggies' first round opponent - Kansas St. - as a No. 5 seed that can make a run. The Wildcats showcased enough talent to be ranked in the top-5 early this season, but their meltdowns throughout the regular season make them a perfect target for an early upset.

BYU - The Cougars have to be one of the hardest teams to project this season. Armed with the nation's leading scorer in Jimmer Fredette, Brigham Young was close to unbeatable for the first three months of the season. That looked to have all changed when Brandon Davies was kicked off the team two weeks ago and the Cougars promptly lost their first game without him, but Jimmer and company rebounded to win three straight - including a Mountain West semifinal win over New Mexico, which had taken down the Cougars in each of their first two meetings. But just when it looked like BYU was back, San Diego St. layed a beatdown on the Cougars in the Mountain West final. Jimmer has the talent and scoring ability to single-handedly get BYU to the Final Four, but the Cougars seem to have lost the intimidation that a No. 3 seed should be able to instill in its opponents.

Michigan St. - If there is anything that the last decade of college basketball should have taught any fan, it's that Michigan St. can't be counted out of any tournament. Ranked as high as second in the nation this season, the Spartans promptly imploded and struggled around the .500 mark early in the season. Michigan St. was in danger of being left out of the tournament entirely, but managed to pull out a No. 10 seed. The Spartans have shown no sign of returning to the form that had some experts picking them to win a title in the preseason, but Michigan St. has been counted out many times before, only to pull a few upsets and bring the nets down at the end of the season.

So, there you go. Just a little food for thought for all of you who want a little more information before turning in your picks. As for me, my seven different brackets for seven different pools are already set in stone. I look forward to gloating over at least some of you in the near future.