Keeping an open mind while undergoing the bracketology process is critical.
I know lots of bracketologists will tend to copy-paste their previous brackets and make adjustments to the seed lines depending on what results have happened since, and even the likes of Joe Lunardi will prognosticate where teams will move up and down in the bracket based on the pending results of the day.
While that makes for good entertainment factor, I’m here to tell you that that’s not a good bracketology practice.
When I put my brackets together, I essentially start from scratch, with spots 1 through 68 all blank. Then I’ll go through team by team, résumé by résumé, comparing side-to-side. (My handy-dandy BRCT tool, to which I have made some major adjustments since I posted about it on this blog, and which I will end up posting about again at some point, helps me decide which teams to compare.) Only then do I feel confident that I’ve done my due diligence.
That’s why this latest edition of Bauertology sees NC State drop from an 8 seed to a 9 seed despite winning their last four games (I know Wolfpack fans are going to hate that, but c’mon, those wins have come against the likes of Georgia Tech and Notre Dame), while Memphis falls all the way to the last team in with just one mediocre home loss to Tulane—seems harsh in reality, but in doing the full team-by-team comparison, I think it’s right.
Keeping an open mind is also important for combatting your preconceived notions. The Bracket Matrix, a handy tool that compiles all the latest brackets from nearly 100 bracketologists into one, is good to look at from time to time to keep yourself grounded and try not to go too far off the beaten path. But you don’t want to just copy the Bracket Matrix either because 1) that’s plagiarism, and 2) sometimes the Bracket Matrix gets caught up in preconceived notions.
For example, the latest Matrix update has Michigan State pegged as a pretty safe choice for the field, up to an 8 seed, while West Virginia appears to be direly on the bubble, down at an 11 seed.
But this blind résumé comparison that I posted on Twitter and Reddit yesterday tells a different story:
The poll I included with that résumé comparison shows that voters strongly favored Team A’s résumé, and for good reason—it’s the better résumé.
What if I told you that the résumé that 82% of people favored belonged to the Bracket Matrix’s projected 11 seed, while the résumé that only 18% of people chose belonged to the projected 8 seed?
That’s why you need to keep an open mind.
And, of course, I keep an open mind when it comes to feedback! So, peruse the latest Bauertology bracket below, and tell me what you think! Reach out if you catch any errors, and let me hear the questions and concerns you have!
THE BRACKET
THE TRUE SEED LIST, BUBBLE, AND BIDS BY CONFERENCE
