Six tips to help you fill out your NCAA bracket

A sixpack of things to consider as you fill out your bracket:

1 Last year, all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four. It was the first time that happened since the NCAA Tournament went from a tidy obsession for basketball fans to a national compulsion for 80 million office workers. This year's No. 1 seeds look formidable (right now). They are Louisville, Pitt, North Carolina and Connecticut. Remember, they all won't make it. Pick accordingly.

2 Chattanooga will be in Philly to play UConn on Thursday. Chattanooga is a 16 seed, but is the home of the greatest wide receiver to ever play football, in this or any universe. No, it's not Greg Lewis, it's Terrell Owens. Pick UConn on your bracket, but realize that the power of Terrell will be working against you. One more thing: The last time UConn was here, in 2006, the Huskies were a No. 1 seed. The 16 seed, the University of Albany Great Danes, had the Huskies all but dead late in the game before UConn pulled it out.

3 There are some brutal games to pick, meaning many brackets are going to look bloody by next Sunday night. Go ahead, hit a high percentage of winners in these tossup games: Oklahoma State-Tennessee; Florida State-Wisconsin; Texas-Minnesota; Utah-Arizona; West Virginia-Dayton; Boston College-USC; LSU-Butler; Clemson-Michigan; BYU-Texas A & M; California-Maryland. Good luck.

4 Before everybody starts writing in Villanova to get to the Final Four in Detroit, check out the road the Wildcats face, assuming the lower seeds win (granted, a major assumption). American University (OK, AU is the 14 seed); UCLA (this is trouble; the Bruins have been in the last three Final Fours); Duke (yikes; the Blue Devils just won the ACC championship); Pitt ('Nova beat the Panthers during the season, which might not mean much in March . . . especially with the trek Villanova faces). There might not be any more difficult path to Detroit than Villanova's.

5 We all like to think we have the upset special of the tournament. Historically, the 13 seed has had its moments. So, we officially put Xavier (vs. Portland State), Wake Forest (Cleveland State), Gonzaga (Akron) and Washington (SEC champion Mississippi State) on notice. One of you is going down. And remember when Gonzaga was a 13th-seed type trying to make a name for itself?

6 Temple was the last team announced on last night's selection show on CBS. Some wiseguy around our office wondered out loud if the Owls actually were in the tournament, since 64 of the 65 teams were announced before the Owls. They are in, and quite deservedly so. The Owls play Arizona State, which was ahead of USC by 15 at halftime of the Pac-10 championship game on Saturday. Twenty minutes of frazzled basketball later, the Sun Devils lost, blowing a chance for ASU's first Pac-10 hoop title. If ever a team has a shaky psyche, it's ASU. Could be a good opportunity for a Philly upset. *

- Chuck Bausman