March Madness

2009 NCAA Tournament Tickets

You will need a few copies of the 2009 Men's Basketball Tournament bracket for some serious figuring and calculating before tipoff on Thursday, March 19, 2009. Which #12 seed will beat a #5? Will a #10 seed slip past a 7?

What will be the lowest seed to win the most games? Which will be the highest seed to play the fewest games?

Make your predictions on "scratch brackets" by getting your printable bracket today. You can find printable brackets all over the place online. I printed mine out last year at CBSSports.com.

For the first time ever you can watch all 63 games of the 2008 NCAA March Madness online for free. No joke. I did this before and it was AWESOME.

The best part?

They have enlarged the video player screen size to 640 x 360 pixels. That might not sound like much, but it was hard on the eyes to watch the games on my laptop the first time they offered this.

They have also added a halftime show and radio broadcasts to the experience. There will also be game recaps, highlights, and buzzer beaters.

You gotta sign up early though. The earlier you sign up, the better your chances of getting into the "virtual arena" to watch the games.

Sign up today at NCAAsports.com. I don't get any money or even a pat on the back for sending you over there. I just wanted to share the wealth so to speak.

I am not going to go into great depths here. I'll cover some basics that will help you have fun and enjoy the tournament by cheering on "your" team(s) because you picked them in your bracket(s).

I prefer to enter my brackets at ESPN.com. I enter one serious bracket and one "upset special." I've never done all that well as even the "experts" are wrong - and I am definitely not an expert.

A 16 seed has NEVER beaten a 1 seed since the expansion to 64 teams. Do not pick a 16 seed for an upset. I think that overall, you can pick the number 1 seeds in the first and second rounds.

2006 was only the second time since seeding began in 1979 that no number 1 seeds were in the Final Four. In other words - have at least 2 of the Number 1 seeds in your Final Four. There have never (since the expansion to 64 teams) been Four #1 Seeds in the Final Four.

Only 4 times has a 15 seed beaten a number 2 seed. Unless you are feeling some serious mojo - pick the number 2 seeds in the first round.

Good Seeds to Pick as Upsets

Easiest - Number 9 over a Number 8. Not much separates an 8 from a 9 seed.

Next I would say is 10 seed over 7 seeds. It seems like there is at least one of those every year.

12 seeds over 5 seeds are about even with picking 11 seeds over 6 seeds. Yeah it seems to happen every year, but the challenge is in picking the right 12 or 11 seed(s) to pull off the upset.

Oh, one more thing. The Number One ranked team in the country heading into the tournament rarely wins the whole thing. Ohio State was ranked #1 heading into the 2007 tournament and lost in the National Title Game to Florida.

If you forget all or most of the above just remember this one thing - Have Fun!

Get the regular edition of Hoosiers for under $10! Buy Hoosiers at Amazon.com for $9.99.

Or, get the 2-Disc Collectors Edition for $17.99 at Amazon.com.

The Collectors Edition features:

Director Commentary
Hoosier History: The Truth Behind the Legend
Deleted Scenes
Milan vs. Muncie 1954 Indiana High School championship game (the basis for the movie)
Photo Gallery
Theatrical Trailer