Unfortunately, my parents didn’t surprise me with a last minute trip for spring break, but I still have some plans for the week off.  I am going on a few college visits, visiting the Princess Diana exhibit with my mom and sister and even taking my dog to get her teeth cleaned, so it should be a full week.  However, the most anticipated part of my week is March Madness!

This is the one time of the year where I can pretend like I actually follow college basketball besides Missouri.  The best part of college basketball’s championship tournament is making a bracket.  And to make the bracket-making more interesting, this week’s challenge is to create a bracket pool with family or friends.

Now I don’t encourage you to do this for money.  That would actually be pretty pointless.  What all can you really do with another $5 that you would win from the pool?  Instead, I suggest you up the stakes.  If you are doing the bracket pool with your family, have the prize be that the winner doesn’t have to vacuum for a month.  Or on the flip side, the loser has to do all of the vacuuming for a month.  If you are playing with friends, the loser has to buy everyone something from QT the next time you go.  The pools are meant to be competitive, but also fun!

I am by no means an expert on college basketball, but I can present you with a few of my personal favorite strategies on how to fill out your bracket:

• listen to the experts: This is an obvious way to do well in your bracket pool.  There are experts that have been analyzing college basketball all season long and for many seasons before that.  Try taking the advice of the guys at CBSsports.com.
• the battle of the mascots: A tiger would beat a jayhawk in every meeting.  Choosing teams based on their mascots is not the most surefire way to fill out your bracket, but it is definitely a lot of fun!  Who would win in the battle of the Richmond Spiders and the Vanderbilt Commodores?  My bet’s on the spider.
• follow your heart: This strategy sounds like something you would read in a fortune cookie, but it works a lot of the time.  Go with what you think you know (and common sense).  That’s how I fill out my bracket and I usually do okay.

Whichever way you decide to fill out your bracket, make sure you have fun with it and have others join in the March Madness fun.  So let’s go out this week, fill out our brackets, watch some basketball and conquer this challenge!