Quick in-class reading check: show understanding of a nonfiction article about March Madness brackets by answering questions about main ideas, key details, and vocabulary.
In the tournament, after each round, what happens to the number of teams? (Answer in 3 words or fewer.)
By wikiHow, adapted by Newsela staff
Recommended ForUpper Elementary School – High School
Words819
Text Level6
Published 3/18/2025
March Madness is an exciting time for college basketball fans. It centers on the NCAA tournament, which generally extends throughout March. The NCAA governs college sports and holds the tournament every year.
Some people keep up with the action by completing tournament brackets. Brackets are diagrams that show the series of games in a tournament. People use brackets to track teams that will be removed from the tournament. These brackets help people predict the winners of each round of games.
The tournament unfolds in six rounds of games. After each round, half the number of teams from the previous round will move on until only two teams remain. At the end of the tournament, the player with the most correct predictions is the winner.
1. Choose your preferred scoring system. Scoring a March Madness bracket is relatively simple. It requires you to fill out your bracket correctly. That means you have to make calculated guesses about which teams have the best chances of winning.
There are many different ways to score a March Madness bracket. The most common method is to award 1 point for each correct prediction in the first round. Then, award 2 points for each correct guess in the second round, 4 points in the third round, 8 points in the fourth round, and 16 points in the fifth round. In the sixth and final round, award 32 points. This is the standard 1-2-4-8-16-32 scoring system.
2. Look up the seed numbers for each of the playing teams. "Seeds" are rankings that show where each team falls in their division. Each division has 16 teams, and they're seeded from 1 to 16.
The #1 seed is considered to be the strongest team. Knowing a team’s seed number is important. You have to confirm that their placement on your bracket fits with their scheduled matchups in the tournament. The NCAA website has a complete list of this year’s team seeds.
3. Enter the names of the playing teams in the first-round column. When you look at your blank bracket, you’ll see 32 numbered lines running down either side of the page. These numbers go with a given team’s seed number within their region.
Write in the name of each NCAA team on the line that matches their seed number. You'll use these seed pairings to predict which teams you think will advance in the tournament.
In the first round of games, high seeds play against low seeds. The #1 seed in each division will play the #16 seed, the #2 seed will play the #15 seed, and so on.
4. Predict a winner for each game. Go down the list of the 64 teams and decide which out of each pairing will win their first-round game. Once you’ve made your choice, write the name of your predicted winner on the next line in the bracket. From there, you’ll go on to choose a winner for each game in the later rounds of the tournament.
It’s a good idea to make safe predictions in the first couple of rounds. For instance, a #16 seed is unlikely to beat a #1 seed, so picking the #1 seed will give you the best chance of scoring.
1. Note the winner of each game on your bracket. The simplest way to do this is to circle correct predictions or cross out incorrect ones. You’ll need to do this after each game. Be sure to update your bracket regularly.
2. Award yourself points for correct predictions. If your scoring system awards 1 point for first-round wins, you would receive 1 point for each team you have circled on the second-round column of your bracket. You would get 2 points for each of your second-round victories. You would get 4 points for the third round. This will go on until you reach the last round.
Put the number of points you receive for each correct prediction in parentheses next to the circled team name. You also can tally the points up on a separate sheet of paper.
The sixth and final round of the tournament is worth the most points. It’s possible to win 32 points — the highest number for each individual round — just by correctly guessing the outcome of the final game.
3. Add up your points for each correct pick to get your final score. Using the standard 1-2-4-8-16-32 scoring system, you’ll score your bracket out of a possible 192 points. The total number of points available needs to be calculated in each round. Multiply the point system for a round by the number of winning teams.
4. Determine the winner of your pool. Once you've got your final score tallied up, compare it with those of the people you're playing against. Have a third party review the brackets fairly to declare a winner. The player with the highest number of points at the end of the tournament wins their pool.
Which statement best describes what a March Madness bracket is used for?
In the standard 1-2-4-8-16-32 scoring system, how many points is a correct prediction worth in the second round?