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How to make a college basketball bracket
2022 NCAA Tournament bracket: Set up your March Madness pool for free with Bracket Games on CBS Sports
By CBS Sports Staff
• 1 min read
You've studied the teams in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and know the Cinderellas and the favorites. So get March Madness going because now is the perfect time to get prepared for one thing -- filling out brackets. It is a craze that takes over America annually each March, so sign on up and join the fun and be sure to invite your friends, family co-workers and strangers to get in the party.
Chances are you've already got your NCAA Tournament printable bracket up and ready to roll, which means you've still got plenty of time to gather up your bracket pool. And what better way to trash talk with your office, family or friend group than by winning the whole thing? Or check out our LIVE, updating March Madness bracket with plenty of matchup analysis and other tools to help make your picks.
Here's how you sign up: Go to the CBS Sports Bracket Games page, select "Create a Group," and you can create your own personalized March Madness experience. From there you can add members to your pool, create your own special group name and, of course, fill out your bracket online in an easy-to-manage format. When the field of 68 teams is announced Sunday evening, you can fill out your picks online and the rest of your pool can follow suit.
It is very easy to manage after you create the group. Just set up your pool name and CBS Sports will give you a customized URL to manage and track the action. As a pool manager, you can also decide how you want to score each round of the bracket. So if you want to give more weight to correct picks in the Elite Eight than the first round, you've got freedom to do so. And inviting friends is easy: once you set up the configuration of your pool, you can send invites via email.
Time is running out for Brackets! Fill out your brackets in your pools and enter for a chance to win a trip to the 2023 Men's Final FourⓇ.
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How to fill out a tournament bracket
James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Email
Feb 15, 2022
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Thinking about playing ESPN's Tournament Challenge game but don't know where to start?
We completely understand. Getting up to speed on college basketball for the NCAA Tournament can be a difficult endeavor. After all, there are 351 schools that make up the 32 Division I conferences.
But don't worry. Even for the #TournamentChallenged, filling out your bracket doesn't have to be a daunting task. All you need are a few quick tips to get initiated into the time-honored tradition of "joining the madness" and have a chance to win the grand prize of $100,000!
Playing is simple
1. Go to Tournament Challenge; click "Create New Bracket" 2. Click "Edit your entry settings here." Select a name for your bracket; click "Save Settings. 3. (Optional) Create a group to play against your friends, family, coworkers or others; click "Create Group." 4. (Optional) Join a group to play against fans of your favorite school, ESPN TV show, etc.; click "Join Group." 5. Fill out your bracket -- Pick a winner for every game of each round, with those winners facing off in each subsequent round, until only one team remains. That's your champion. Don't forget the tiebreaker: predicting the final score of the championship game; click "Submit"
Autofill bracket options
Chalk (all favorites): Take the higher seed (1, 2, etc.) in every matchup, automatically, and hope for no upsets!
Random: It's like flipping a coin for each and every game! We'll randomly select a winner for you in each game.
Smart Bracket (powered by BPI Simulation): Using ESPN's Basketball Power Index to break down the games, we'll generate a bracket for you.
Other bracket options
Help with making your picks
Seeds are there for a reason: The brackets are not created by randomly picking teams out of a hat -- the best teams are 1-seeds and the worst are 16-seeds. The selection committee tries its best to balance the field by making sure the best teams don't have to face each other until the later stages of the tournament. The chances of all four 1-seeds making it to the Final Four are considerably better than the chances of four 11-seeds making it there. So, when in doubt, go with the chalk pick (the better-seeded team).
Upsets do happen: In 2018, for the first time ever, a 16-seed defeated a 1-seed (UMBC over Virginia) -- and did so in blowout fashion, winning by 20 points. Additionally, an 11-seed (Loyola-Chicago) made it all the way to the Final Four. For whatever reason, traditionally, 12-seeds have far exceeded expectations against 5-seeds, which is why it is commonplace to see Tournament Challenge participants select at least one 12-seed to advance at least a couple of rounds.
Unpredictability is par for the course: In 2019, 12-seeded Oregon and 13-seeded UC-Irvine both pulled off upsets and ended up squaring off for a chance to make the Sweet 16. However, apart from that game, only one other team outside of chalk (5-seeded Auburn) made it to the second week of play. The moral of the story: Don't be afraid to pick upsets, but don't pick too many. Although a Cinderella always seems to crash the ball, there aren't that many glass slippers to pass around.
Traditional powers do tend to rise to the top: Villanova has won twice in the past five tournaments. Gonzaga advanced to the National Championship for the second time in the past four tourneys. Nobody should be surprised when perennial top-10 darlings make deep runs. They're called traditional powers for a reason.
Don't get too caught up with a team's record: You're likely to see a few teams with 17-plus wins squaring off with teams that are barely over . 500. You're also likely to discover that the team with the worse record has a better seed. The reason for this is that not all teams play against the same level of competition. Good teams from smaller conferences (which are likely to get only a single team into the tournament) might load up on wins over lesser competition compared to middle-of-the-pack teams from power conferences (which will "get credit" for playing a tougher schedule). You can either trust the seeding process, which does get it right far more often than not, or take a look at BPI, which ranks all the teams while factoring in the vast imbalance in scheduling.
The winner of these contests is often surprising: You can crunch all the numbers, analyze all the stats, memorize all the rosters and watch every single minute of ESPN's Champ Week to scout schools from less-publicized conferences; at the end of the day, once the ball is tipped, anything is possible. The person who gets his or her arm twisted into filling out a bracket and decides to pick only teams with animals as their mascots can just as easily end up with the trophy. That's what makes this such a fun ride. Get on board!
Many kids love team games with the ball — football, volleyball, basketball. These sports are included in the school physical education curriculum. Perhaps the easiest way to equip a gym for basketball is to have a couple of rings fixed at a suitable height and a few balls.
Unlike professional basketball, not every player in school basketball can boast of good ball dribbling, passing accuracy and most importantly - scoring shots.
But it is for hitting the ball into the basket, as you know, points are awarded. Of course, the team that has more tall guys has an advantage, but this is not the main indicator, because almost everyone can learn accuracy. So, what needs to be done for this?
1 Exercise regularly
It is easy to guess that the path to success lies through hard training. In physical education lessons, the ball can generally touch your hands a number of times, so train accuracy is better after hours, before or after school, slowly - on any sports ground where there is a basketball hoop. At the same time, the student must be rested, full of energy: after a particularly difficult school day or immediately after eating, it is undesirable to train.
2 Start with light drills
First you can stand a couple of meters from the basket (left or right) and try to send the ball into it bouncing off the backboard. Despite the fact that many pros consider such hits to be "childish", one can recall that such a throw became "gold" at the Olympics-1972: this is how Alexander Belov brought victory to Soviet athletes in a match with the US team.
3 Practice clean throws
The ability to hit the basket without rebounding off the shield or ring is a useful skill and an indicator of a certain skill. Moreover, this is a great challenge to yourself: you always want to make a beautiful and accurate throw, even in training. The trajectory of the ball in this case must be high, so that it can descend in an arc exactly on the target.
4 Work on free throws
Free throws are rare in high school basketball if it's not officiated, but it's still useful to learn this skill. But only trained guys get free kicks: after all, it is necessary that the ball not only hit the basket, but also fly to it, given that such throws are made from afar. Before each attempt, you need to take a deep breath and exhale: in no case should you rush, but it is useful to concentrate and imagine that the fate of the match depends on your hit.
5 Practice long shots as well
As a rule, in high school basketball no one blocks such shots (and blocking is a rarity in general), believing that it is possible to hit only by chance. Of course, a player without experience can only rely on luck, and one who trains hard knows that this can also be learned. Therefore, if such an opportunity presents itself, you should try to use it. A 3-point shot is always beautiful and sure to give you and your team confidence.
6 Control more than just the throw
Having made the throw, keep your hands in the air and mentally accompany the flight of the ball. Practice has shown that those who remember this (seemingly!) little thing are more productive and control the ball better.
Remember that even natural abilities without labor and hard training can remain undiscovered!
Therefore, devote more time to basketball or other outdoor games - of course, not virtual, but real. The skills acquired in them will also allow you to cope with tasks that, at first glance, have nothing to do with physical education and sports.
Photo: pixabay.com/ru/users/KeithJJ-2328014/
Tags: basketball, team sports, sports
Smart sport. How to captivate schoolchildren with basketball | Education | Society
Valery Spiridonov
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
5998
Shutterstock.com
Sport is one of the most important components of a healthy lifestyle. It gives you the opportunity to become stronger, faster and, finally, just happier. The Center for Patriotic Education and School Sports is constantly looking for new ways to instill in young generations a love for physical activity, but in the realities of the 21st century this becomes a very difficult task. Sergei Mikhailov, referee of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and head of the Referee Committee of the Moscow Basketball Federation, spoke about how to captivate schoolchildren with sports and about the prospects of basketball .
AiF.ru: Sergey Mikhailovich, how long has basketball been in your life?
- In fact, since childhood. In 1987, when I was 10 years old, I independently came to a sports school in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow. Since then, in various roles, I have been playing basketball, and my childhood hobby has become my profession.
— What are the benefits of basketball for children?
— Basketball is a wonderful game that develops not only physically, but also intellectually. It has long been recognized that this is a very smart sport, because during the game you have to keep a huge amount of information in your head and analyze it very quickly.
Moreover, like any team game, basketball teaches to live in a team, make friends, communicate, jointly solve tasks, empathize with teammates. In modern life, the value of basketball as a source of real communication and emotions for children and adolescents is extremely high.
— How popular is basketball? What is the dynamics?
— It seems to me that everyone knows about basketball without exception. There is no person to whom you show a basketball basket, and he spreads his arms and asks: “What is this?”
In recent years, the popularity of basketball in the capital has been changing like an avalanche: there are many growth factors, and it is very important that all of them be brought together and directed to the development of sports.
For example, last year about 100 thousand children of different ages took part in competitions among schoolchildren. School basketball league "Cas-basket" this year - 539 teams of boys and girls, but now we are starting to prepare for the next season and plan to gather up to 800 school teams.
— What Moscow basketball projects help to inspire schoolchildren with sports?
— The joint work of the federation and the Department of Education is aimed at the development of all projects without exception. Among the projects, Case Basket stands out, and an important incentive is the opportunity to participate in all-Russian competitions in case of victory at the city stage. We hold many tournaments all over Russia, arrange school sports festivals, conduct seminars and master classes, and in 2015 Sochi hosted the First World Games for Young Compatriots. When children come to such large-scale events, they are charged with the atmosphere of competition, and sports become an important part of their lives.
— What are the prospects for this sport?
— The leadership of the Moscow Basketball Federation manages to find a common language with people who develop basketball in all its manifestations. Thanks to this, the Department of Education, the Student Union, the organizers of commercial and corporate competitions, and, of course, various public organizations are working to popularize everyone's favorite ball game. The prospects for such attention are the brightest.
Young geniuses. Who won the IV International Olympiad of Megacities? →
At the highest level. What is the secret of the victories of the capital's masters? →
S. Baidakov: “We want to make sports fashionable” →
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As a pool manager, you can also decide how you want to score each round of the bracket. So if you want to give more weight to correct picks in the Elite Eight than the first round, you've got freedom to do so. And inviting friends is easy: once you set up the configuration of your pool, you can send invites via email. 
Go to Tournament Challenge; click "Create New Bracket"
500. You're also likely to discover that the team with the worse record has a better seed. The reason for this is that not all teams play against the same level of competition. Good teams from smaller conferences (which are likely to get only a single team into the tournament) might load up on wins over lesser competition compared to middle-of-the-pack teams from power conferences (which will "get credit" for playing a tougher schedule). You can either trust the seeding process, which does get it right far more often than not, or take a look at BPI, which ranks all the teams while factoring in the vast imbalance in scheduling.:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8091641/Screen_Shot_2017_03_01_at_2.39.40_PM.png)
That's what makes this such a fun ride. Get on board!
Despite the fact that many pros consider such hits to be "childish", one can recall that such a throw became "gold" at the Olympics-1972: this is how Alexander Belov brought victory to Soviet athletes in a match with the US team. 
The skills acquired in them will also allow you to cope with tasks that, at first glance, have nothing to do with physical education and sports. 
Sergei Mikhailov, referee of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and head of the Referee Committee of the Moscow Basketball Federation, spoke about how to captivate schoolchildren with sports and about the prospects of basketball . 
In modern life, the value of basketball as a source of real communication and emotions for children and adolescents is extremely high. 
Among the projects, Case Basket stands out, and an important incentive is the opportunity to participate in all-Russian competitions in case of victory at the city stage. We hold many tournaments all over Russia, arrange school sports festivals, conduct seminars and master classes, and in 2015 Sochi hosted the First World Games for Young Compatriots. When children come to such large-scale events, they are charged with the atmosphere of competition, and sports become an important part of their lives. 
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19777173/acc.jpeg)
