By Kevin Flaherty, 247Sports: Whether it’s a free office pool or one that has serious money on the line, everybody wants to be the one to get bragging rights at the end with the most accurate bracket in their group. And while there’s always stories about somebody winning based on picking teams based on whether their mascots would win a fight or selecting a national champion because of the picker’s favorite colors, there is actually a method to the madness.
Of course it’s difficult to pick a winner of a single-elimination tournament, which is why the favorite fails to cut down the nets so often (more on this in a bit). But there are certain traps that bracketeers can avoid that makes them more likely to step around bracket landmines and give themselves a realistic chance to win. This year could have more variables that most, but there are some tried and true rules to follow that should carry over.
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