LARNED — Bracketology. Science or luck?
Either way it could be worth a billion dollars.
Yes, that’s $BILLION!
Thus, though it is my job to help you fill out your brackets, it will only be a tip or two. After all, were talking a billion dollars here.
Enough to cover my house payments!
I get selfish when you start stringing that many zeroes together following any number!
What’s with this Sunflower hate?  
Have you checked out the brackets?  
Wichita State and Kansas State get assigned to arguably the toughest bracket.
If the Midwest bracket is not the toughest then the South, where they sent the Kansas Jayhawks, is.
The Midwest has a veritable “Hall of Champions” in Michigan, Duke, Louisville and Kentucky.
You can mention NCAA Championship and those schools all in the same breath.
According to Kansas head coach Bill Self, the South Regional is the toughest.
Of course, the Jayhawk boss would say that if his club had been assigned to the St. John Lion’s Club Midwinter Classic!
Still, he has a point.
No. 1 seed Florida, UCLA, Ohio State, Syracuse and New Mexico join the Jayhawks in a group that could take on all challengers.
The NCAA champion come April 7 will come out of the South Regional. (Hint, hint. It WILL NOT be Kansas or Florida.)
Michigan State caught a break by getting assigned to the weak East Regional, which will offer them an easy path to the Final Four behind the top-notch coaching of Tom Izzo.
The Spartans have “been there, done that” and are the most likely winners of the East.
Everybody loves it when a “Cinderella” team makes a deep run.
Who will it be this year? Wofford? Mercer? Eastern Kentucky?
How about those “brains” from Harvard with their shiny 26-4 record?  
Remember, Wichita State will not be among them as they showed last year that they are for real.
Don’t get too carried away picking and promoting your “Cinderella” team.
History has shown us that those glass slippers get shattered more often than not.  
Twenty-three of the last 24 National Champions have been seeded at a three spot or higher.
Grudgingly we have to admit that the selection committee usually gets it right though Larry Brown and his left-out SMU Mustangs would argue that point.
Though this might be a good year to try it, picking winners because their cheerleaders are the cutest generally IS NOT the best way to fill out your bracket.
Ditto for best mascot, ugliest coach and best uniforms.  
I must admit that I have lost to people who did exactly that! Sometimes it is very difficult to prove that you are an expert!
I keep trying.
Teams that advance deep into the tournament have a few components that other teams do not.
A coach with a reputation for having “been there, done that.”
They shoot the 3-ball at least moderately well and their offense is led by a really good point guard.
If your team doesn’t have that point guard, say hello to baseball season!
Playing close to home counts.
That’s why the committee tries to place the higher-seeded teams as close to home as possible.
Until your bracket gets to the Final Four, that is an important fact to take in BEFORE you start counting your $1 billion.
My final tip — If you should win that One Billion Dollars, don’t trust Warren Buffet and those Quicken Loans sponsors. Make them sit down and count it out to you. By the time they finish, you won’t care!

Charles Tabler is a contributing writer from Larned.