No local teams, but Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana well represented
March Madness is officially upon us. Get your picks ready, grab the remote and sit back for some of the best basketball that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has to offer.
Even though our local-local teams—University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, Northern Kentucky University or Miami University—didn’t make it past Selection Sunday this week, plenty of fans will be cheering for the regional teams that did make the men’s NCAA Tournament: Ohio State University, University of Kentucky, Purdue University and Akron University. Additionally, Indiana University, University of Notre Dame and Wright State University are three of the eight First Four teams playing to advance to the Field of 64.
You can head up to University of Dayton Arena this evening to view two of the First Four games (Texas Southern vs. Texas A&M and Wyoming vs. Dayton) or Wednesday evening to view the other two First Four games (Wright State vs. Bryant and Rutgers vs. Notre Dame). Tipoff for the first games both nights will be at 6:40 p.m.
Opening-round games in the Field of 64 will begin Thursday. If you’re one of the millions of Americans who stake a few bucks in an NCAA Tournament pool, you’ll want to get your brackets completed before noon that day or by the deadline set by the pool administrator. The first game begins at 12:15 p.m. Alternatively, various organizations post brackets to play for fun or prizes—for instance, Bally, CBS Sports, ESPN, Fantasy Pros and Yahoo.
Even LaRosa’s has a you-pick-’em contest.
So: Almost every year, someone asks whether it’s legal to participate in sports pools. In Ohio, the answer is yes, with a caveat. In A Charity Guide for Businesses, Attorney General Dave Yost says: “In Ohio, sports pools are legal as long as nobody profits. In other words, if all of the money going into the pool goes out to winning players, it is legal. But if the organizer keeps a percentage, even if that portion goes to charity, it is an illegal scheme of chance that could carry criminal sanctions.”
You can get your printable brackets at a number of sites, including the NCAA, CBS Sports and Sporting News.
Need some strategies? Action Network has teamed up with TeamRankings.com on some tips for picking your brackets.
Or, given the upsets that happen every year, just choose your favorite mascots or team colors. It might just give you an edge.
