As we get closer and closer to the NCAA March Madness Tournament, people from all over the country are filling out their brackets. If you’re anything like me and aren’t super keen on watching basketball or analyzing statistics to predict which team will win, there are plenty of other strategies to fill out your “perfect” bracket.

A personal favorite of mine is taking a look at the schools’ mascots. Whether it’s deciding which mascot would win in a fight or simply choosing the one you like better, it’s an easy way to make a decision about who’s going to win. For example, in the first round, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is playing the University of Montana—their mascots are the Badgers and the Grizzlies. I’m partial to the Badgers myself, but if I weren’t, a grizzly would most likely beat a badger in a fight. But who knows? There could always be an upset.

If you’re a seasoned traveler, one bracket strategy that might work for you is choosing based on cities. When traveling across the country, you’ve probably come home with some favorites. If you’ve visited Tennessee and Iowa but came away with the opinion that Tennessee was more enjoyable, why not take Lipscomb over Iowa State? 

But if your tournament is anything like March Madness 2025, just pick the higher seed, and you’ll be set.

From all of us here at Tyro, happy bracket-making!