Young Kwak/Associated Press
It’s bracket time, basketball fans! The field for the 2022 NCAA men’s tournament was released on Sunday, and the fun is about to begin.
The men’s First Four will be played March 15-16, while the tournament will officially begin with the Round of 64 on March 17. This means that the time for office pools, stat scouting and general bracketology has arrived.
Selection Sunday has delivered the early matchups and the routes teams will have to take to reach the Final Four. Those looking to play along during the tournament will have to plot their own predicted paths, but we’re here to help.
Below, you’ll find a link to an easily-printable bracket for quick-reference use. We’ll also dive into some tips for a successful bracket in 2022. Additional scheduling and bracket information can be found at NCAA.com.
Bracket Tips
DON’T Back All Four No. 1 Seeds
There’s nothing wrong with backing a pair of top seeds all the way to the Final Four. However, picking all four No. 1 seeds is a lazy and unrewarding way to fill out a bracket. While these may be the best teams in the country on Selection Sunday, the tournament is all about the matchups.
Most No. 1 seeds will encounter a style matchup that’s tough to handle at some point during the tournament. History suggests that only one or two top seeds will advance to the Final Four in 2022.
All four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four just once during the tournament’s history. That happened in 2008. The men’s tournament has seen three No. 1 seeds among the last four just five times in its history.
Last year, Gonzaga and Baylor were the only No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four. Fifth-seed Creighton, sixth-seed USC and seventh-seed Oregon were the other semifinalists.
Search for mid-seeds (Nos. 4-8) you believe in and target one to ride into the Final Four. We’ve seen at least one team seeded No. 4 or lower reach the semis every year since that 2008 tournament.
Do Back Gonzaga
John Locher/Associated Press
If you’re going to pick a No. 1 seed to win it all, the Bulldogs are the ones to back.
Gonzaga has posted an impressive 26-3 record and cruised past Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference final. The Gaels were the only team to hand Gonzaga a WCC loss during the regular season.
This is about more than past wins and losses, though. Gonzaga is as poised as any team to avoid upsets in the early rounds.
Gonzaga professor Nichole Barta, Ed.D, who teaches a class in exercise and sports psychology recently dove into why such upsets occur, stating the following, per Dave Boling of The Spokesman-Review.
“Elite teams are vulnerable to upsets in two ways. First, if they perceive the competition as ‘no challenge,’ and then become complacent in their efforts. Second, if the fear of losing causes anxiety that hinders performance. Elite teams may feel more pressure to perform due to the expectation of winning and the embarrassment of losing.”
Gonzaga is a seasoned team that should know how to avoid such pitfalls early in the tournament. The Bulldogs came close to winning last year and coach Mark Few has guided his squad to two championship-game appearances—in 2017 and 2021.
Defending champion Baylor is also worth backing into the Final Four, but winning back-to-back tournaments is rare. Florida was the last team to do it in 2006 and 2007.
Don’t Go Overboard on Opening-Round Upsets
Basketball fans love the NCAA men’s tournament because of its unpredictability. Upsets happen and they happen often. Picking the favorite in each Round 1 matchup usually doesn’t pan out.
However, while it’s fun to go with potential Cinderellas, picking too many massive early upsets is also a recipe for disaster. There’s nothing wrong with picking a couple of No. 9 teams over No. 8s or a No. 11 over a No. 6, but one shouldn’t go too heavy on high double-digit seeds.
In last year’s tournament, for example, only five teams seeded 12th-15th advanced to the Round of 32. The South Region was the only region to feature two such teams—No. 13 North Texas and No. 15 Oral Roberts—in the second round.
Chances are that at least one double-digit seed will make it to the Sweet 16, as four teams did in 2021. However, your bracket shouldn’t be littered with them in an attempt to predict the unpredictable. The trick is to foresee the right upset, not all of them.
Go with your gut when picking opening-round upsets, but avoid 16th seeds. UMBC’s 2018 victory over No. 1 seed Virginia remains the only such upset in the history of the men’s tournament.
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