It is never to early to start your March Madness bracket research. As the automatic bids are being finalized, I like to put together a list of potential March Madness office pool surprises. I will use this list to pick out my first round bracket upsets. So here a quick preview of some potential 1st round surprises:

Automatic Bid Potential Surprises

Belmont (30-4)

Atlantic Sun Conference (Won 12 in a row)

Strengths

• Up tempo
• 3 point shooting
• Rebounding

Weaknesses

• Inexperience

Ideal Draw

• Team that plays slowly
• Team that does not have huge front court

Long Island (27-5)

Northeast Conference (Won 13 in a row)

Strengths

• Very up tempo
• 3 point shooting
• Offensive rebounding
• Getting to the FT line

Weaknesses

• Very poor FT shooting
• Defense
• Height

Ideal Draw

• Slow Down team
• Small team
• Lack of quickness

Wofford (21-12)

Southern Conference (Won 8 in a row)

Strengths

• 3 point shooting
• Experience
• Balanced team

Weaknesses

• Has not beat a good team
• Defense
• Height

Ideal Draw

• Team with a small front court
• Inexperienced team
• Team that does not defend 3 (zone team?)

Morehead St (24-9)

Ohio Valley Conference

Strengths

• Rebounding
• Experienced

Weaknesses

• Height
• Bench
• Turnovers

Ideal Draw

• Does not press or play aggressive
• Small team

Oakland (25-9)

Summit Conference (Won 8 in a row)

Strength

• Speed and Quickness
• Up Tempo
• Shooting
• Height

Weaknesses

• Creating turnovers
• Fouling
• Defending the 3

Ideal Draw

• Poor offensive team
• Team that does not shoot the 3

Other teams that may surprise: Old Dominion, Harvard

Check out The Office Pool Guy’s complete brackets or Bracket Strategy Guide

As I go about preparing to fill out my March Madness office pool brackets, I implement a very important strategy that will pay off come tournament time. Since this year you will only have one day before your brackets have to be done (most office pool brackets will have to be completed by Tuesday if they are going to include all 68 teams and the selection show is Sunday night), it is important to do some prep work early.

My prep work begins with the conference tournaments. I look for the smaller teams that get automatic bids or who win their conference tournament who I feel may surprise or upset someone. I look for certain things:

Teams that are high scoring – If you can score you are never out of a game and these teams tend to have a great chance for a 1st round upset win.

Teams that can control the tempo – If they can get the game going in their favor they have an excellent chance of pulling an upset.

Teams that shoot the 3 – exchanging 3′s for 2′s can be a great way to stay close and get that last second win.

Teams that have experience – Seniors often play with more passion and poise and that is what you want in a tournament team.

Teams that can create more possessions for themselves (offensive rebound or turnovers) – More possessions equates to more shots and at a higher percentage which is always a sign of winning teams.

As the conference tournaments finish up and the automatic bids are finalized, I will be making a list of potential 10-16 seeded teams that are poised to pull an upset or two. Check back in with The Office Pool Guy for those potential sleepers or create a list of your own using my Do-It-Yourself Resources.

If you don’t want to do it yourself, or are running out of time to fill out your brackets then you can download and copy mine from my website. Go to The Office Pool Guy. (Will be posted when brackets are out)

Filling out the winning March Madness bracket is not as easy as many think. Most March Madness office pools are very competitive with the winning bracket having just a couple of key sleepers that others did not. Therefore it is very important that you start your March Madness bracket research early. I like to begin doing my research as automatic berths are decided (which is this week). Here is what I like to do during the conference tournament week.

Watch teams you would not normally watch and look for the following:

• Have good guards
• Can shoot the 3
• Play a style that causes other teams problems (fast, press, slow-down, zone etc…)
• Teams that are poised
• Teams that have one really GOOD player

If you can peg one or two SLEEPER picks from these conference tournaments, you just may have the edge that wins your March Madness office pool bracket.

For further bracket strategy check out my BRACKET STRATEGY GUIDE.

With just over a week till you have to fill out your March Madness brackets, it is time to start thinking about your March Madness office pool strategy. If you are serious about winning your office pool then you will want to have your bracket strategy ready even before the brackets are set. Over the next week, I will post a few tips on how to put together a winning March Madness bracket.

March Madness Office Pool Tip #3: Conference Call

One of the most important considerations in your bracket strategy needs to be based on the conference teams play in. You will want to stick to the SIX POWER conferences when choosing your Final Four teams. Most of the teams that make it past the first three rounds will be from one of these conferences. Stick with conferences when filling out your brackets and you will be on your way to winning your office pool. In fact you have to go back to 1990 before you will find a champion that was not from one of these six conferences.

The SIX POWER conferences are:

• Big East
• Big Ten
• Pac Ten
• Big 12
• ACC
• SEC

For more bracket strategy, download The Office  Pool Guy’s Bracket Strategy Guide

With your March Madness office pool just over a week away, it is time to start thinking about your March Madness brackets. If you are serious about winning your office pool then you will want to have your bracket strategy ready even before the brackets are set. Over the next week, I will post a few tips on how to put together a winning March Madness bracket.

March Madness Office Pool Tip #2: Scoring Matters

One of the first things to consider when filling out your office pool brackets is to look at the scoring system.

• Does your office pool give one point per win?
• Does your office pool give you more points for latter rounds?
• Does your office pool give extra point for early upsets?
• Does your office pool give extra points for late round upsets?
• Do you have to re-pick after each round?

This will determine how you fill out your brackets and how many upsets you will want to pick. If your pool gives just one point per win then you will want to pick more than your share of upsets (especially early) since you are not going to fall too far behind.

But if your office pool gives more points as you go, you will want to be careful with your early upsets. You will not want to eliminate a potential team that goes far into the tournament. For example in this type of office pool if you pick a #2 to lose early and they happen to get the title game you could lose over 30 points  (1+2+4+8+16). This could destroy your office pool brackets. Therefore you will want to stick with more favorites.

If your bracket scoring system has you re-picking after every round or two. This is a great opportunity to try for some surprise upsets as you will not have the potential to lose a team all the way to title game.

So look at your scoring system and plan your strategy from there.

If you want some help in filling out your brackets, take a look at The Office Pool Guy’s March Madness Bracket Strategy Guide.

Next Up: Tip #3 Conference Call

With your March Madness office pool just over a week away, it is time to start thinking about your March Madness brackets. If you are serious about winning your office pool then you will want to have your bracket strategy ready even before the brackets are set. Over the next week, I will post a few tips on how to put together a winning March Madness bracket.

March Madness Office Pool Tip #1: Backwards Thinkers

The best way to fill out your March Madness brackets is to start with the winner and work your way backwards towards the 1st round games. This will give you less headaches in the long run and make your office pool decisions in the earlier rounds much easier. It will also give your office pool brackets stability. Evaluate each team that you think has the potential to win the championship from a set criteria. Pencil in the team that fits your criteria best in the title slot and work backwards from there.

If you need help deciding on the criteria of a champion, take a look at The Office Pool Guy’s March Madness Bracket Strategy Guide.

Next Up: Tip #2 Scoring Matters