The equivalent of Christmas Eve has finally arrived. I've wrapped up my bracket for larger pools as first-round March Madness odds tip off in roughly 24 hours. In this column, you'll discover my bracket picks and large-pool strategy. Follow along with our free printable bracket and first-round bets. Most importantly, brace yourselves for chaos.
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eli's NCAA tournament bracket picks
Large Pool Strategy
After completing my first set of Final Four picks, I'll share some advice when making your high-leverage selections in bigger pools. Let’s be honest: it's not about constructing the perfect bracket. That shouldn't be your priority with your bracket picks.
In a perfect world, college basketball fans (and bettors) would rack up as many correct picks as possible. However, winning your tournament pool requires a plan of attack involving risk and value to set your entry apart from your competition.
An under-the-radar Final Four selection (or two) will do just fine.
Although Duke is the most-picked team to cut down the nets at the majority of hosting sites, bracket-goers don't necessarily need to deviate from picking the Blue Devils if you are bullish on their upside (with a healthy Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown) and path in the East Region. Pinpointing which under-the-radar Final Four contenders have a feasible route to San Antonio is the other half of the battle.
Biggest Difference Between Brackets & Bets
In a bracket, you may decide to choose a 12- or 13-seed to tally an upset simply because it could give you an edge over your competition in the pool. Nevertheless, to win a bet, you may not need this underdog to win straight up.
Instead, wager on them covering the spread, meaning they must stay within the number. This strategy supplies a shield that bracket picks don't.
march madness bracket picks: futures bets
In my Final Four picks column, I outlined my optimism about Texas Tech and Xavier's chances of upsetting the top seeds in their respective regions. For context, I nearly bet on the Red Raiders winning the national title at 90-1 odds in November, but instead, I wagered on Ole Miss.
With Auburn (35-1) and Xavier Final Four (110-1) futures already in my portfolio, I added Texas Tech championship odds on Tuesday evening. As of this publication, Caesars and DraftKings have the best odds available at .
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