How To
By
eHow Sports & Fitness Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Look at the Facts
Step1
Look at a breakdown of each team's Rating Percentage Index (RPI). This helps determine seeding, but you'll also need to know how each team fared on the road. March Madness games are played at predetermined sites.
Step2
See how each team did against opponents that match up against the one it will be facing in its bracket. If a lower-ranked team had a strikingly high winning percentage against superior teams, give it some thought as an upset possibility.
Step3
Hit the history books. Check to see not only how teams you want to calculate a bracket analysis for have performed, but also how each school has fared in March Madness play. A high-ranked team with a reputation for choking in the early rounds may make a good target for an upset candidate.
Step4
Check to see where each team playing in the bracket game is based. The team with the greater traveling distance to the site of the game is generally considered to be at a slight disadvantage.
Step5
Compare statistics in key team categories. Two offensive teams known for having weaker defenses make an intriguing match, but a different kind of intriguing match can ensue when a powerful offensive team plays the nation's top defensive team.
Step6
Break down each team's roster. Look at which players will be competing for minutes. Identify teams with key positional advantages over their opponents and put the smart money on players who have proven they can come through in a clutch.
