2024 NCAA men's tournament: 10 rules for filling out bracket - ESPN

Which strategies do you employ when filling out your NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket? The eye test? Metrics? Or something more frivolous, like mascot ferocity?

There are 9.2 quintillion possible bracket outcomes. It's a daunting task, but I have scoured the data so you don't have to.

In doing so, I have created 10 tried-and-true guidelines based on more than 40 years of precedent since seeding for the men's tournament began (1979). I cannot promise you'll win your bracket, but we can ensure that history is on your side.

The First Four began in 2011, and with the exception of 2019, at least one team that played in the Dayton advanced to the round of 32 (or later).

Complete your bracket by selecting the winner for each game of the 2024 men's NCAA tournament. Play Men's Tournament Challenge

First Four teams to reach the round of 32 or later:

2023: No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson (round of 32)
2023: No. 11 Pittsburgh (round of 32)
2022: No. 11 Notre Dame (round of 32)
2021: No 11 UCLA (Final Four)
2018: No. 11 Syracuse (Sweet 16)
2017: No. 11 USC (round of 32)
2016: No. 11 Wichita State (round of 32)
2015: No. 11 Dayton (round of 32)
2014: No. 11 Tennessee (Sweet 16)
2013: No. 13 La Salle (Sweet 16)
2012: No. 12 South Florida (round of 32)
2011: No. 11 VCU (Final Four)
* NCAA tournament canceled in 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic)

Brackets are open! Head to Tournament Challenge and fill out your bracket now!

You probably already knew this one, but even so, the numbers are staggering: 1-seeds are 150-2 all time vs. 16-seeds, with the only losses coming in 2018 (UMBC over Virginia) and 2023 (Fairleigh Dickinson over Purdue). The average margin of victory for 1-seeds in those 150 wins is 24.7 points. More 1-vs.-16 matchups have