Upsets or chalk? Favorite team or highest rank? I thought I liked this team, but the ESPN analysts said that the other team is better… Oh no what do I do? Overthinking and panicking while filling out a sheet of 64 basketball teams are huge signs of March Madness. One of the most talked about times of the year, the madness is here, and students are already filling out brackets like crazy.

“I love March Madness,” sophomore Logan Moore said. “I always fill out a bracket each year. When I fill my bracket out, I listen to some experts but I try to use my own opinion and go with what I think will happen. That makes the entire process more fun.”

The odds of filling out a perfect bracket are over 2.4 trillion to one according to a Duke University Math professor. As if that wasn’t enough of a longshot, picking a winner is even more challenging.

“It is always safe to presume there’s going to be upsets, so I pick some every year.” junior Nick Mansour said. “I look into the stats and the analytics, but I still have never correctly picked the overall tournament winner. In 2013 I came close with Michigan, but sadly they lost in the championship game.”

One of the more common practices during March Madness is the bracket pools. People will enter pools with friends, classmates, co workers, or family. Sometimes these pools have a cash prize, sometimes the pride of winning is the only spoil the victor receives.

“One year I did win my pool,” Mansour said. “Unfortunately there was no cash prize. It was an online contest and by some stroke of luck I ended up actually being one of the top winners. I really wish I would’ve won some cash.”

Bracket strategies differ from person to person, the possible bracket combinations are estimated at 9.2 quintillion. Brackets are almost like snowflakes, and just as quick as a snowflake can melt, a bracket can be busted. Happy March Madness. Enjoy the ride.