Are you ready for the Madness?
March Madness typically refers to the chaos on the courts of both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments. But we know the real madness is filling out your brackets while pretending you even know a little bit about what you’re doing.
BRACKET BREAKDOWN: Best games, regions and players to watch for women’s March Madness
That’s right. Your secret is safe here. Whether you’ve watched an embarrassingly large number of college basketball games this season or were too preoccupied trying to figure out how TGL works to tune in even once, there is only one certainty when it comes to filling out brackets: Anything is possible.
Here are some tips to help you expect the unexpected while filling out your 2025 women’s bracket.
WOMEN’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s Women’s Bracket Challenge for a chance at $1 million prize.
Embrace the madness — to an extent
Upsets happen. Cinderella runs to the Elite Eight and beyond, however, are extremely rare.
Just one No. 16 seed has advanced past the first round (Harvard, 1998) and all other seeds 14-16 are a combined 0-360 in the first round. It likely wouldn’t be wise to swing for a big upset with these high seeds.
Still, that doesn’t mean there won’t be smaller upsets to find. No. 11 Middle Tennessee took down 6-seeded Louisville in the first round last season, and 7-seeded Duke toppled No. 2 Ohio State one round later. Exercise caution on these middle seeds, too, as only four teams seeded sixth or lower have ever made it to the Final Four — and none lower than 11.
Don’t be odd; watch the odds!
Favorites are favorites for a reason. Public odds set by sportsbooks can be a helpful asset when assessing teams with the best chance to win it all. The usual suspects such as UConn, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and Notre Dame will undoubtedly be topping those charts.
It isn’t difficult to figure out why. These programs have long been dominant and this season was no exception. Siding with one of these blue bloods could yield some positive results.
OK, but which should you choose? Look at the odds and examine the bracket in sections. Which teams have head-hunters nearby? We mentioned Duke earlier. LSU, while unlikely to earn a top seed, could still make some noise. Chart a path for each team favored high in the odds and see which looks friendliest.
It’s important to remember none of this is an exact science and outcomes can at times feel totally random. All we can really do is have fun and act like we know what we’re doing.
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