How to create a winning bracket for the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament

It's March, which means it's time for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The annual competition, featuring 68 schools this year, turns even the most casual fans of college basketball into competitors in the office pool. Think it's not worth your while? Think again. The tournament's unpredictability, plus the information that's readily available from a host of experts who follow the sport, make filling out the brackets easy for anyone. Here's what you need to know if you want to pick among the schools.

Things You'll Need

  • A computer with online access
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Instructions

    • 1

      Go to http://www.ncaa.com to find a complete bracket of competing teams after 6 p.m. March 13. Brackets also will be available in newspapers or on various media websites by the next morning.

    • 2

      Know the basics: Teams are seeded according to their relative strength. The four No. 1 seeds are considered the top teams. Numbers twos are the next-best, and so on. It's OK to be conservative: No 16th-seeded team has ever defeated a No. 1 seed. Only four No. 15 seeds have ever beaten No. 2 seeds.

    • 3

      Get to know the top teams. Websites like Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com have a stable of experts who have been following teams all season. Within moments after the pairings are announced, they will be offering analysis and predictions.

    • 4

      Look for a Cinderella -- but don't get carried away. Double-digit seeds are a safe bet to win a game or two, especially No. 12 seeds against No. 5s, but they rarely get past the "Sweet Sixteen." No team seeded lower than 8 (Villanova in 1985) has ever won the championship. This year, teams like Belmont, Butler (last year's tournament runner-up) and Gonzaga, which come from lesser-known conferences, are well-regarded by experts.

    • 5

      If your Final Four teams and champion sound familiar, don't worry. UCLA, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina have won more basketball championships than any other schools. However, no team has repeated as national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007. Before that, Duke last accomplished the feat, in 1990 and 1991.