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Step 1
Identify each of the four regional brackets of the NCAA basketball playoff tournament field. Each is comprised of 16 teams and 4 pods.
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Step 2
Learn to follow the pod seedings. Pod 1 is comprised of the number 1 seeded and the number 16 seeded teams, who meet in the first round, and the number 8 and number 9 teams, which also battle. Pod 2 is made up of number 2 vs. number 15 and number 7 vs. number 10. Pod 3 includes number 3 vs. number 14, and number 6 vs. number 11, while Pod 4 holds number 4 vs. number 13 and number 5 vs. number 12.
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Step 3
Notice that the pods are structured to ensure that the top 4 teams cannot possibly meet each other until there are only 4 teams left alive in the region.
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Step 4
Follow your team by learning the traditional schedule of the March Madness tournament. The tournament typically starts near the weekend, with its first-round games being held Thursday and/or Friday, and the second-round games going on Saturday and/or Sunday.
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Step 5
Watch the NCAA basketball tournament knowing that teams are not re-seeded in later rounds. In the pod system, a number 16 team can meet a number 15 team in the second round if both lower-ranked clubs upset their higher-ranked opponents in the first round.
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Step 6
Follow the tournament as it unfolds, watching for any Cinderella teams gaining momentum thanks to breaks they catch in the pod system. Because the NCAA men's basketball tournament has a single elimination playoff format, it is possible for a team with low expectations to advance very far by hitting a hot streak.
