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Picking that perfect bracket just isn’t happening

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Mike Miller

If you want to win your NCAA tournament pool, don’t pick Kentucky to win it all. OK, pick the ‘Cats. Everyone else is. But if you do that, make sure you do something slightly nuts, such as placing New Mexico State or Belmont or some other longshot to reach the Sweet 16 or even the Final Four.

According to Michael Weimerskirch, a math professor at Augsburg College, your bracket has to have to something that sets it apart from the others who try to make all the smart picks. Why be like everyone else when winning is simply a matter of being a little different.

Otherwise, you’re trying to pick a perfect bracket. And that ain’t happening.

From the AP:

But there’s this small glimmer of hope. Weimerskirch says you could simply start flipping coins. The odds of finding perfection that way - by flipping a coin to pick the winner of every game: 1-in-100,000,000,000,000,000,000. For those keeping score at home, that’s 1-in-100 million trillion.

Or, to put it another way: “You’re just as likely to win Powerball three consecutive times as you are to picking a perfect bracket by flipping a coin,” Weimerskirch says.


Wait. So I could win the Powerball three consecutive times? Why am I wasting all my time on this bracket?

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.