It's March Madness Baby! 2006 Edition

It's my favorite time of the year, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday, Peeps (during the occasional March Easter), spring training, Shamrock Shakes, and most importantly March Madness. I'm actually coming off my best outing ever coming in third in the office pool. So I figured I would pass on my college basketball wisdom on to you. Even though Selection Sunday is still a good two weeks away there are a few rules you can abide by every year without having to see the bracket.

Rule #1 - Duke always makes it to the Sweet 16. Remember last week when everyone said Duke was in trouble? But an ACC title run later, Coach K and crew are back on track. Some people may argue that Duke is an automatic Final Four pick every year, and that would be a good bet most years but Sweet 16 is a guarantee when it comes to Duke.

Rule #2 - Never bet on the Big Ten. It's never a good idea to trust institutions of higher learning that can't count and the Big Ten backs that philosophy up. It's always guaranteed that at the end of the first weekend, when they show the breakdown of how the all the major conferences did, the Big Ten always has the worst record. Then everyone questions why they got so many bids, and then the next year they still get 4-6 more bids to the Big Dance. And that means 3-5 more upset points for us. Yeah, one team may make it to the second weekend, but as a whole avoid the Big 10.

Rule #3 - The MAC is always good for a win. As a product of the Mid-American Conference, I am very aware of this rule. Every year the Mac is overlooked and draws a 10-12 seed then knocks off the 5-7 seed (usually an at large bid from an overrated conference) thus racking up the upset points.
The Gonzaga Corollary - To go a step further on Rule #4, always pick any lower Mid Major seed vs. a 4th or lower from a major conference. Most major conferences do not deserve 4 or more bids and prove with early exits from those teams.

Rule #4 - Home Court Matters. College Basketball is the sport where home court/field advantage is most prominent. Yes, I know there is no home court advantage in March Madness because they play on neutral courts, but when you (or your fans) have to travel less than 50 miles to get to get to the game than you are at a distinct advantage. So when you are filling out your brackets pay close attention where the first weekend games are taken place.

Rule #5 - Ask Your Sister. The most important rule even though it discredits everything I’ve said before. Every year guy spend from 6:00 Sunday until 12:00 Thursday mulling over websites, watching Sportcenter, and taking in all the information from all the blowhards and self proclaimed braketologist. But by the time April rolls around, it’s a chick who took five minutes filling out her bracket who takes home the big prize. So if you want to win this year, just don’t over think everything.

Now onto my picks:

Atlanta
Finals: Duke vs. Texas
Upset Special: NC State

Oakland
Finals: UCLA vs. Kansas
Upset Special: Kent State

Washington DC
Finals: UConn vs. North Carolina
Upset Special: Utah St. (Not that I picked them)

Minneapolis
Finals: Boston College vs. Ohio State
Upset Special: Northern Iowa

Final Four
Duke over UCLA
UConn over Boston College

Duke over UConn 83-76