The NCAA Tournament is finally underway. The first of the 63 game tournament pitted the Dayton Flyers (No. 11 seed) against the Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 6 seed), which Dayton won in a close one point game.

The Sweet Sixteen takes place on March 27-28 while the Elite Eight takes place on March 29-30. The Final Four will happen on April 5 and the National Championship to decide the tournament champion will take place on April 7. Most analysts have picked the number one seeds to go to the Final Four.

If you want to fill out a bracket here is a link. There are many, many pools you can play in including a home-grown pool between buddies. Below are some tips on picking a bracket.

  • Fill out just one bracket. Increase your chances of winning by researching and making good choices.
  • Face some risks. Make some intelligent guesses by weighing which favored teams show greatest potential of winning and read predictions made by experts about potential upsets.
  • Take note of coaches who have been recurrently successful. Coaches like Mike Krzyewski of Duke, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, and Billy Donovan of Florida have led their teams to the tournament finals almost every year.
  • Trust your mathematics when undecided. Use data like pace-adjusted situations and strength of schedule. Prediction Machine is a website that shows 50,000 simulations of the NCAA tournament this year.
  • Enjoy the game. Bear in mind that March Madness is a sporting experience. Do not allow your passion to win destroy your pleasure of enjoying the games.

Here is the TV schedule for upcoming games which you can also watch on your Android, iPhone or iPad using the mobile device app.

South

Kansas vs 15 Eastern Kentucky, March 21, TBS, 4:10 p.m.
UCLA vs 13. Tulsa, March 21, TruTV, 9:57 p.m.
VCU vs 12. SF Austin, March 21, TruTV, 7:27 p.m.
New Mexico vs 10. Stanford, March 21, TBS, 1:40 p.m.

West

Arizona vs 16. Weber State, March 21, TNT, 2:10 p.m.
Creighton vs UL-Lafayette, March 21, TruTV, 3:10 p.m.
Baylor vs 11. Nebraska, March 21, TruTV, 12:40 p.m.
Gonzaga vs 9. Oklahoma State, March 21, TNT, 4:40 p.m.

East

Virginia vs 16 Coastal Carolina, March 21, TBS, 9:25 p.m.
Iowa State vs 14. NC Central, March 21, TNT, 9:50 p.m.
North Carolina vs 11. Providence, March 21, TNT, 7:20 p.m.
Memphis vs 9. George Washington, March 21, TBS, 6:55 p.m.

Midwest

Wichita State vs Cal Poly, March 21, CBS, 7:10 p.m.
Duke vs 14. Mercer, March 21, CBS, 12:15 p.m.
UMass vs Tennessee, March 21, CBS, 2:45 p.m.
Kentucky vs 9. Kansas State, March 21, CBS, 9:40 p.m.