So, you’re reading to create a bracket for Tanga’s 2011 Tournament Challenge, but don’t know anything about basketball? No problem, we’re here to help with our handy strategies for creating a winning bracket.

Interest in the sport is secondary. It is the process of selecting that is the gamesmanship. Truly, with seedings, nobody really knows much more than the rest about how any one team will do.

This is a chance to employ all sorts of fanciful strategies. Here are a few that we suggest:

Geographic Favoritism

Do you have an irrational bias against all schools east of the Mississippi? Or perhaps you’re a member of the media and favor the East? Whatever it is, let the map be your guide with this picking philosophy.

Uniform Preference

For the fashion-conscious. Take a quick peek at the colors and styles of the team’s respective uniforms. If it’s a draw, look to their warm-up attire to help w/ your decision. (University of Wyoming loses out every time with this strategy. Sorry Cowboys.)

Ex-boyfriend or Ex-girlfriend

Have an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend that attended that particular school? Let that guide you. Most of us would find it difficult to employ this strategy for the entire bracket, but I strongly suspect that my wife uses this one exclusively for each and every pick. There are, after all, only 64 schools in the tournament…

Strength of Mascot

Research the mascot of each team and decide which mascot would win in a real life fight. For example, would a Cougar defeat a Gator (certainly!), would a Owl beat a Badger? This one is great fun for the kids and sparks a lot of debates. Just hope there aren’t any colleges with Ninjas as a mascot, because we all know it’s impossible to beat a ninja.