NCAA Brackets are hard. Even for MSU Denver probability and statistics professor Dr. Ben Dyhr. Here’s a few facts and tips from someone that works in seeing how numbers make things work:
- Flipping a coin for each pick will give you a 0.00000000000000000018% chance at getting a perfect bracket.
- Choosing the 1 seed over the 16 seed in those matchups will increase your odds by a factor of sixteen.
- You’re not doing yourself any favors setting your bracket based on mascots, or uniform colors.
At the end of the day Dr. Dyhr says a little research goes a long way. Lower seeded teams sometimes have a better chance to win depending on the variables. How did they get in? Did they travel to play? Are there injuries? Do some independent research to make the best judgment call you can. Just don’t be surprised when someone who picked their bracket based on their favorite mascot beats you. Luck plays the biggest factor when it comes to your bracket.
