March Madness cheat sheet

Don't stress about filling out your office bracket this week; one of the best things about March Madness is that previous knowledge of the sport is not necessarily correlated with success.

But if you're serious about beating your co-workers this year, here are a few tips:

🏀 Don't get cute

While some years are wackier than others, top seeds are historically a good bet to win it all. According to Bracket Research, 34 of 39 winners of the NCAA Tournament going back to 1985 were 1, 2 or 3-seeds — and 25 were No. 1 seeds.

🏀 Commit to a Cinderella

You should still pick upsets in the early rounds. The common advice will be to take No. 12 seeds over No. 5 seeds, as they've won 35% of the time in the first round.

Of note: No. 15 seeds have upset No. 2 seeds 11 times since 1985.

• Most recently, No. 2 seed UofA lost to Princeton in 2023.

🏀 On the women's side, pick the favorites

In 2024, only one double-digit women's seed advanced past the first round. Historically, No. 1 seeds have not only won 32 of 42 national championships, but in 35 tournaments, two or more No. 1 seeds made the semifinals, per the NCAA.

🗣 You tell us: Send your picks for the men's and women's Final Four, and the readers who get the right teams — or at least get the closest — will get a shout-out in a post-tournament edition of Axios Phoenix.

• We've got more bracket tips for the men's and women's tournaments.