From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (registration required):
2. Fill your bracket out backwards.
That’s right, backwards.
“After thinking hard about the tournament and potential matchups, decide first who you think is most likely to win the whole shebang,” says Yale professor Edward Kaplan, who co-authored a mathematical analysis of NCAA tournament pools. “Pen that team in as your winner, then work backwards, [writing it in for the previous five rounds].
“Next, decide your pick for the loser in the championship game, then the two losing Final Four teams. Keep working backwards until you have filled in the entire draw.”
3. Make sure your national champion has at least one former McDonald’s All-American on its roster. Only one winner since 1979 hasn’t.
And my personal favorite:
11. Listen extra carefully to what Dick Vitale, Billy Packer and Jay Bilas have to say the next few days about who’ll win, why they’ll win and how they’ll win.
Then, do the exact opposite.