GREENSBORO, N.C. — While a perfect bracket is near impossible, BracketResearch.com has some ideas to help you out.
Focus your energy on picking the right final four and champion. They are worth the most points and will help you win.
Pick a 1, 2 or 3 seed as your champion. 23 of the past 25 champions have been 1,2 or 3 seeds.
If you want to put in some upsets, the 12-5 is historically the most popular. Speaking of upsets, a 16 seed has only beaten a 1 seed twice. Just don't count on that happening. And a 15 over a 2 has only happened 11 times.
If you are planning on betting on who will take the championship, here are the Bet MGM odds for each North Carolina team to win the big game. UNC has the best odds at 1 in 1,300. Duke also had solid odds at 1 in 3,000. NC State is more of a long shot. Bet MGM gives them a 1 in 20,000 shot at the title.
And if you do end up winning some money, you might wonder what to do on your taxes. You are supposed to report it to the IRS. That means even your winnings from an office pool.
“That's where the myth gets started, people think if I didn't get a document then it's not taxable. If it's not an official casino I don’t have to report it. That's not the rule,” said Mark Steber with Jackson Hewitt Tax Prep Services. “The rule is if you won a dollar with a coin flip with your buddy, it's technically taxable.”
Technically it’s on the IRS tax forms for additional income. 8-B on this year's forms just in case you won last year.