For the umpteenth March in a row, I find myself saddled with two NCAA March Madness brackets to fill out. One is for my grandma’s work pool of 150 people for zero stakes; the other is for a handful of friends (half of whom are Gators) with a riveting $10 buy-in.
The two brackets I create end up looking pretty different. I want to be aggressive in the larger pool and fade Florida in the smaller pool. That strategy didn’t quite work for me last year, but hey, my Gators became champions. I’m not complaining
in the slightest about my failed 2025 approach.
This year, I’m going to fade my own school again in my local league. It’s the mathematically responsible decision given the bias within the group, and beyond that, Todd Golden’s squad is the weakest No. 1 seed with a tough regional path. I can’t say I was all too inspired by their play in the conference playoffs, either.
I’ll likely end up taking Illinois over Florida in the Elite Eight. Otherwise, I’ll be chalky across the board. It wouldn’t be shocking to see all four No. 1 seeds make it to the Final Four for a second straight year, and we shouldn’t expect much commotion from high-seeded teams in the early rounds, either. Not according to the podcast I listened to an hour ago, at least.
For far more educated thoughts, predictions, picks, and more, check out sbnation.com/college-basketball. I highly recommend Ricky O’Donnell’s ranking of the tournament’s 50 best players.
And to engage in more hoops conversation, check out sbnation.com/march-madness/feed and the information below!
Build Your Winning Bracket!
SB Nation’s CBB expert Mike Rutherford and resident bracketologist Chris Dobbertean will answer all your questions this week and help guide you to bracket glory!
Drop in SB Nation’s March Madness Feed all week long and we’ll have both on hand! (All times ET)
- Sun 7-10pm: Chris Dobbertean
- Mon-Wed 10am-1pm: Mike Rutherford
- Mon-Wed 5-8pm: Chris Dobbertean
- Thursday 9am-12pm: Chris Dobbertean and Mike Rutherford
