1. No No. 16 seed has ever beaten a No. 1, so just forget about those games altogether and advance the No. 1s on to the second round.
2. Don’t go putting all your No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. They might be the best teams on paper, but since 1979, it has never happened. The closest it ever came was in 1993, when three No. 1s and a No. 2 made it. Plus, do you really want to be the person in your office that picked all the top seeds? We here at CBS SportsLine.com always make fun of that person.
3. Pick your upsets carefully. It’s inevitable that a No. 12, 13 or 14 seed will win in the first two days, but trying to pick which one is almost impossible. Look for a team that has a veteran starting five. . . .
4. There is no such thing as “Team X is due.” Just because Washington State has never won the NCAA Tournament, it doesn’t mean they are going to run through the bracket and win it all.
5. Watch out for injuries. If a team’s star has a serious injury, it would be wise to keep that team out of the Final Four. . . .
6. OK, we know you are a big Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fan. You love your Islanders and are excited they are in the NCAA Tournament. That’s great. Now, don’t be a homer and have the Islanders facing UCLA in the final. Be objective.
7. Don’t underestimate the familiarity factor. If two teams already played this year, take a look at what happened between those two teams in the regular season and whether or not they faced off in their conference tournament. It’s rare that a team can beat another three times in the same season.
8. Have fun. This is the NCAA Tournament! The greatest sporting event in the history of sports!
NewMexiKen adds that nine seeds often beat eight seeds, though not in the Midwest bracket this year.