Well quite a bit could be said on this topic, but suffice it to say, there are a lot of winning approaches.  I have always maintained that if you choose all the #1 & #2 seeds, you will not win!  I stand by this, although 2025 was close.  The winner had all the #1's, three of the #2's and #10 Arkansas.  But that was only the case, because literally the Final 4 was all the 1 seeds, and the Final 8 had three of the 2's and a 3 seed.  

The idea is to pick teams that outperform the expectation of their seeds.  Almost every year, there are one or two very high scoring teams (i.e. high seeds that make Final 8 or better), and if you don't have these teams in your 8 picks you will not win.  For example, in 2022 UNC made the Championship game as an #8 seed.  They were worth 120 points in the Pick8.  48 of the top 49 places in the Pick8 in 2022 had selected UNC.  The Tarheels were effectively table stakes.  If you didn't have them, you did not have a chance!  In 2023, it was NC State as an 11 seed.  The Wolfpack made the Final 4 for 110 points, and 73 of the top 74 entries in the Pick8 selected NC State.

Another important consideration is that we are now getting over 300 entries into the Pick8 each year.  That means that if there are ANY underdog teams that do well, someone will likely have chosen them.  If we had 50 entries, the strategy would be different.  My personal advice, as 20+ year administrator, you need to differentiate yourself.  There's no shame in finishing in the bottom of the pack.  Go Big, or Go Home!  Picking all the 1's and 2's is a guaranteed middle of the pack finish.  That said, personally I have not cashed in the tournament since 2014:( 

Check out the History tab for some analysis ideas, talk to a friend for advice, ask ChatGPT, or look below for some hot tips!.