Whether you're a die-hard hoops head, a casual or someone who's never watched a college basketball game, there's a decent chance you've been invited to fill out a bracket. Here's what you need to know.

The brackets for the 2025 NCAA Tournament were announced Sunday night, and no more than 10 minutes later you received a flood of texts and emails from friends and family asking you to join their bracket pool.

By bypassing the Blue Devils for the title, you can differentiate your entry. Duke’s prowess has made it the most popular title pick in ESPN’s bracket contest ( 25 percent of entries as of Tuesday) as well as CBS’s. Not going with Duke to win is a smart pool strategy Mock outlines here — while still collecting points by riding Duke to the finals.