March Madness has arrived. You can feel it in the air. That faint, rhythmic beat you hear when you step outside? That's the sound of baskets being cut down in celebration.
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Snip, snip, snip, snip.
It's almost as if it never left. Feels like only yesterday when Baylor was dancing through the confetti-covered hardwood set in the middle of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Isn't that a fitting metaphor for the NCAA tournament? They are bigger than basketball, so big in fact that they rival the Super Bowl in destination and stadium size. Last year, Indianapolis. This year? New Orleans. The Big Easy. Although getting there will be anything but for the 68 teams fighting for a chance to be immortalized in college basketball history. Will a favored No. 1 seed walk all the way to the championship game? Or is 2022 the year where Cinderella gets to the Ball and never hears the stroke of midnight? All of these questions, each one burning for an answer, and yet the most important has yet to be asked.
Will you win your office bracket pool?
Every sport has its fair share of Negative Nancy's and Pessimistic Peter's. "Baseball is too slow," or "Football is too barbaric," to the fan-favorite "Unless you're an SEC fan, there's no point to college football." But March Madness is different. The playing field is even across the board. Bracketology is as much math as it is sports knowledge or pure blind luck. The World's biggest "Pick'Em" game is at hand, but what does the FanBuzz Office Bracket Pool look like? There's only one way to find out. In a FanBuzz-first, we're taking you behind the scenes like never before.
Sure you've heard from our writers about their opinions on everything from Bill Self's toupée to the 15 best Alabama running backs and even how Taylor Swift is showing up in this year's tournament! While all of that is fantastic journalism (biased opinion right there) we thought it was time for us to "Shake It Off" and show you whose name we're writing in that "Blank Space" where it says national champions.
The FanBuzz 2022 Office Pool Brackets
Patrick
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Final Four: Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Loyola Chicago, Providence
National Champion: St. Mary's
Cats suck. I'm allergic to them. They're manipulative little creatures. There's nothing good about cats. Dogs, however? They're man's best friend. After thinking it over, that became the simple logic for choosing my bracket: dogs and people. I made sure every single team with a cat mascot (Wildcat, Tiger, Catamount) lost its game and conversely chose every single dog team to win (Bulldogs, Huskies, Wolves). All human mascots (Pirates, Volunteers, Friars) also rode their way to the later stages of the tournament. The result? An absolute dog-walking mess of a Final Four. In the end, though, St. Mary's takes the cake because they are the Gaels, which is just a person of Irish or Scottish descent. Incredible!
Joe
Related: Look at the picture above and tell me that's not a toupée.
Final Four: Gonzaga, UCLA, Villanova, Kansas
Champion: Kansas
My most successful bracket of all time was when I picked Kansas to win it all back in 2008. They were under-the-radar as a one-seed then, and I'm feeling it again now. Bill Self's teams normally choke when they have pressure to win, but they're somehow being overlooked. You know what they say: history repeats itself every 14 years.
Anthony
Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images
Final Four: Gonzaga, Texas, Arizona, Kansas
Champion: Texas
"The stars at night are big and bright, Deep in the heart of Texas." The Longhorns will get their revenge against the Jayhawks to claim their first national title in program history. The Blue Bloods will have a strong showing in the tourney, but I'm seeing a lot of burnt orange in the future. Hook 'em, Horns!
Rachel
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Final Four: Gonzaga, Baylor, Arizona, Wisconsin
National Champion: Baylor
As someone who does not follow college basketball until the tournament comes around in March, there is not much strategy behind my bracket choices. Which school location do I like better in this match-up? Did that team beat my team in football this season? What upsets would I personally like to see happen? All that to say, I was realistic in many choices but threw in some upsets to shake things up and make it interesting, culminating in my Final Four being Gonzaga vs. Baylor (a 2021 rematch) and Arizona vs. Wisconsin. Baylor and Wisconsin will pull off the wins and ultimately Baylor will defend their 2021 title and become back-to-back champions.
Justin
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images
Related: Looking to place some March Madness bets? Here's our guide to NCAA College betting.
Final Four: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona
National Champion: Kansas
I never pick the National Champion correctly, but there's a good reason for that. Over the last decade, I have only ever picked Providence College or some Northeast adjacent school to win it all. Never works. I'm always sad. That being said, I'm going with a bit of a scientific test here to see if I'm cursed. My Final Four is basically all No. 1 seeds with the exception of Kentucky, who... ya know... is Kentucky. If I'm truly cursed, none of these teams will make it to the Final Four. And truthfully, there's a possibility. Gonzaga has had trouble closing out teams in the second half. They usually still win, but they let opposing teams hang around too long. Kansas is an Adidas school and as someone who has hooped in Adidas shoes, I'm a little worried. That being said, if they all come out wearing Dame 7s, then I retract my previous statement, and they're my national champs. Arizona feels safe, and they have a lot of pundits calling their number. Also, there's a Jimmy John's near campus that once gave me two free pickles because they liked my beard. So naturally, Final Four. Kentucky's good, but they have to go through Baylor. Not ideal. That being said, this will be the year the Friars go all the way. If Providence wins it all this year, this is my letter of resignation.
Which FanBuzz Staff member do you think got it, right? Let us know on Facebook and Instagram where you'll be seeing more of us than you ever have in your life! That's right, the fun won't stop here. So head on over and check us out, and be sure to keep checking in for all your favorite sports content! Happy Bracketing, y'all!
