One of the greatest sporting events of the year is coming up soon (THE best, in my opinion.) Of course I'm talking about March Madness, the college basketball tournament to determine the national champion.

There's basketball on all day every day, dozens of close games and buzzer-beaters, and the classic Cinderella team. Every year, millions of people fill out brackets in hopes of picking the most correct games. Even people who don't watch a single game all year get super in to it, and even sometimes win their bracket pool.

If you're looking to get involved in a bracket challenge and impress guys, your friends, and even your dad, here's a few tips.

1. Don't pick all higher seeds. The seed is the number assigned to each team in the tournament based on their regular-season record, strength of schedule, performance in their conference tournament, among other factors, with 1 being the best and 16 being the worst. I know it's tempting to pick all the higher seeds (the lower numbers), but there will be upsets. That's the beauty of March Madness. The best team on paper doesn't win every game, so don't be afraid to pick a 13 to beat a 4. Just a little hint: the most common upset is a 12 over a 5. Also, a 16 seed has never beaten a 1.

2. Don't be afraid to pick against your school. Being a Buckeye is great, and we're used to having outstanding sports teams, but if we're being honest our basketball team will be lucky to squeak in the tourney this year. They might win a few games, but I'm pretty positive they're not going to go all the way, so I'm going to have to pick against them sometime. It's going to be tough, but to have a realistic bracket you have to choose with your head and not your heart. Along with this, sometimes you're going to have to pick teams you really dislike (I'm looking at you Duke).

3. Do some research. There's no harm in getting a few expert opinions to help guide you in your decisions. Try websites like ESPN, CBS Sports, and Bleacher Report. Obviously there will be differing opinions on each site, but hearing what the experts have to say about each team can help guide you in the right direction. There will be a few days between Selection Sunday and the day the tournament starts when your bracket must be complete, so utilize that time wisely.

4. Get your friends involved. The best part about filling out a bracket is comparing it to ones your friends fill out. You and your roomies can all fill out paper ones and hang them on your fridge to compare as the tourney rolls on, or you can utilize websites like the ones I mentioned above to create a group so you can compete with your friends from home. If none of your friends are in to it but you still want to get involved, you can enter your bracket in the big pools on those sports websites with millions of brackets that everyone can enter. Some of these sites even offer money and other prizes to top brackets.

5. Have fun! You won't get a perfect bracket (there are millions of possibilities), so don't worry about trying to pick every single game correctly. Pick one “sleeper team," a middle-range seeded team that could go pretty far, and try to find Cinderella. Every year, sportscasters love using the term “Cinderella team" to describe a team that gets way farther than they were expected to. It happens every year, so pick a random team and stick with them! These are the teams that will help you pick more correct than your friends, if you pick the right team. And don't forget to watch the games! Now that you have something invested in each game and have a different team to root for each time, they will be so much more fun for you to watch.