Your March Madness bracket is probably terrible but that's OK

USA Today

20-03-2025

Your March Madness bracket is probably terrible but that's OK
This is For The Win's daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here's Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners. Happy March Madness day. That also means this will likely be the most chaotic day on the sports calendar.
You've probably filled out a bracket in anticipation of this day. No, scratch that — you've probably filled out a few brackets. You've done all the research and made all of your picks. You're probably very confident in at least one of those brackets.
My friend. I'm here to tell you that your bracket probably stinks.
I know, I know. That's heartbreaking. Because you put in quite a bit of time on this. You dotted all of your i's and crossed all of your t's. You did the job. The problem is it doesn't matter. Because, inevitably every year, there's always some randomness that you can never account for that comes along and completely busts your bracket.
REMEMBER: No bracket can ever really be perfect. Well, it can be. But it's so improbable it'll never happen.
Someone will lose on a half-court buzzer-beater. A team will fumble the ball away with a chance to win a game. Some higher seed will inevitably drop the ball and get blown out along the way because they underestimated an opponent. You know it's going to happen. You just don't know which team it'll be.
And you know what? That's totally OK. It's March Madness, folks. They don't call it that for nothing — the madness is what it's all about.
The only thing we should be rooting for today is chaos. Not only because it's fun but also because it always inevitably wins the day. It's quite literally the most dependable force of the day. Well, that and the seemingly unending commercial breaks that play the same three ads on a loop. I still haven't gotten that "What a Pro Wants" commercial out of my head yet. Anyway, when you accept that, the tournament is so much more fun.
So print that bracket out. Rip it to shreds. Take the pieces and ball them up. Fire them into the nearest trash can. That's the best thing you can do for yourself today.
Take my advice and enjoy the games for what they are, folks.
Cue the music
The other best part of the month? Hearing this song playing on repeat over and over again. CBS's March Madness theme will never get old.
Nostalgia, man. Isn't it something? Right now, as this music is playing, I feel like I'm sitting in my high school English class, secretly watching games on a tube TV. This takes me back, man. It's awesome.
Does it coincide with heartbreak? Yes. Absolutely. But that's part of the process, folks. Embrace it all.
Kansas fans, you'll love this
USA Today's Mark Giannato asked an AI to predict how March Madness would play out this year. It made Final Four picks and also picked a champion.
You'll never guess who it picked. I'll let Charles tell you:
"Its Final Four? That would be No. 1 seed Houston (cool, but Gonzaga potentially looms in the second round!), No. 2 Alabama (seems reasonable), No. 2 Michigan State (makes sense) ... and No. 7 Kansas.
Now: the Jayhawks are a traditional blueblood program. But this year? They're coming into the tournament having lost three of their last five. They're a No. 7 seed.
And AI has them winning it all in this scenario."
This is probably not the best advertisement for AI. But, hey! At least it's thinking outside of the box. The problem is it's also thinking it's still 2022.
Quick hits: Jackie Robinson deserves better ... The Lions suggest a huge NFL change ... and more
— Jackie Robinson's history being erased by the Trump administration shows that nothing is sacred anymore. This is sad.
— The Lions' suggested NFL rule change would make divisions pointless. Robert Zeglinski explains.
— Here's Tyler Netunno with the best Round of 64 bets for the men's March Madness tournament.
— Prince Grimes wrote about Stephon Castle's Rookie of the Year case in the latest edition of Layup Lines.
— Barack Obama is still making bracket picks. Here's another bracket for you to copy.
— Blake Schuster put together watchability rankings for the tournament. He says, "You're welcome." Thanks, Blake.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the basketball this week.
-Sykes ✌️