It’s every sports fan’s favorite month: March!

It’s a whole month full of upsets, buzzer-beaters, and last-second thrillers. Let the madness begin!

One of the best parts of March Madness is filling out a bracket. It gives you a team to root for in every game and allows you to compete against your friends. But picking the winner of 32 different games can be daunting- and that’s just for the first round. So, if you’ve never filled out a bracket before or just want a creative new way to select your champion, here are some strategies to try out.

Pick the higher seed

While this isn’t necessarily the most exciting method, it has proved to be an effective one. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, 24 out of the last 38 NCAA champions have been #1 seeds, including 12 of the past 16. While lots of upsets are bound to happen, they are hard to predict. Advancing all #1 seeds to the Final Four is a safe bet that one of those teams will end up taking it all the way.

Mascot Madness

Instead of trying to pick the better team, shift your focus to the mascots. Make your decision based on which team’s mascot would win in a fight. Tigers vs. Bulldogs. Wildcats vs. Spartans. Blue Devils vs. Red Raiders. There are sure to be lots of interesting mascot matchups for you to decide between that don’t require any basketball knowledge.

Color Wars

Another fun way to select your winner is to advance the team with the best colors. You can judge this by comparing the teams’ logos, color schemes, or even jerseys. From orange and navy blue to cardinal and gold, the field of 64 will have a large variety of colors that will keep things interesting from start to finish.

Autofill

 Don’t feel like making any decisions? Let the Autofill feature make them for you! Download the ESPN Tournament Challenge app and select the Autofill option after starting your bracket. The app will select the winner of each game for you. No effort is required!

Auburn All The Way

Whether you make 20 brackets or just one, it is an unspoken rule that you have to make at least one where Auburn wins it all. Show support for Auburn by filling out a championship run bracket, because why not!? It’s called March Madness for a reason. Here’s to hoping the Tigers will be cutting down the nets in Phoenix!

I hope these strategies help you this year. Get to filling out your bracket and enjoy the madness!

Be well, Auburn.