5 Alternative Ways To Pick Your March Madness Bracket

With March Madness starting Wednesday, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to pick your bracket. Maybe you don’t really care about winning or bragging to your colleagues, friends and family and you just want to have fun and get in the spirit of things. Or maybe you just want to participate ironically. Whatever the case, here are five other ways that you can fill out your March Madness bracket.

1. Just pick what word you like better

This one is pretty simple: just sit at your desk, and say the names of each team over and over. Then, decide which one sounds better/weirder/prettier, and that team advances forward. Isn’t it fun to realize how weird words sound when you really think about it? I mean, Gon-Zag-Ahhhh. Gonzaga. Gon-zag-ahhhhhhh. Or what about Seton Hall, which is actually pronounced Sea-ton Hall. I mean pronouncing ‘sea’ when you only see ‘se’? Mind. Blown.

2. What mascot you want to cuddle with

It’s pretty common for people to suggest picking your bracket according to which mascot is the most likely to win in a fight. But that’s a bit too straight forward. So instead of the most intimidating/fierce mascots, we’re going to suggest that you pick the one that’s most cuddly. The North Carolina Gators, Duke’s Blue Devils, the Florida Gators and the Syracuse Oranges might not make the best big spoon.

3. Graduation rates

Ok, this one’s more serious, and you’ll probably have Harvard going all the way, but why not create a bracket that favors the schools with the highest dedication to retaining students? I mean, other than the fact that you’ll obviously lose.

4. Geographic Proximity

This year, whether you live on the East Coast, West Coast or in the Midwest, your odds aren’t bad with this choice. Judging strictly off of No. 1 seeds, living on the East Coast leaves you with Virginia and Florida, West Coast gives you Arizona and the Midwest gives you Wichita State. It’s both a fun and practical way to pick your bracket.

5. The quality of the school’s student health care plan

How much is the school’s premium increasing this year? Do they offer free contraceptives and cover birth control? This is a really fun way to pick your bracket if you love sticking your concern for public health in people’s faces.