Updated Mar 14, 2023
What is a March Madness Bracket?
The NCAA Tournament, better known as “March Madness,” is a single elimination college basketball tournament that takes place at the dawn of spring to round out the NCAAB season. But it's something more than that, too. The enormous, rapidly growing popularity of NCAA Tournament bracket pools among families, friends, and coworkers, has catapulted March Madness into the territory of downright cultural phenomena, a can't-miss opportunity to show off your picking prowess with the competitors in your pool. On this page you'll find Dimers' printable 2023 March Madness bracket, as well as all the tips you'll need to have a blast competing with family and friends.
Where Can I Find the 2023 March Madness bracket?
You can find a printable version of Dimers' March Madness Bracket for the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Dimers.com. Simply click the link below to download and print as many copies as you need.
How to Use this Printable 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracket
Once you've printed the official 2023 March Madness bracket, all that's left is to fill yours in with predictions for each game, all the way up the Final Four and NCAA Championship. One thing that's important to note, however, is that the 64 teams that will appear on this year's bracket won't be finalized until March 15th, just one day before the NCAA Tournament's First Round (aka the “Round of 64”) begins. On March 12th, the tournament's full, 68-team field will be announced on Selection Sunday, which will lock in 60 of the 64 teams competing in the First Round. In the meantime, you can still print a blank version of the bracket to ensure you're prepared when the official field is announced.
Important Dates for March Madness 2023
The NCAA Tournament schedule for 2023 is as follows. Note that most March Madness brackets only include predictions beginning with the First Round, and not the First Four, in which the 64-team field is still being finalized, though technically the four teams that compete in the First Four are also part of the NCAA Tournament.
- Selection Sunday: March 12th (6:00 pm E.T.)
- First Four: March 14th - 15th
- First Round: March 16th - 17th
- Second Round: March 18th - 19th
- Sweet 16: March 23rd - 24th
- Elite Eight: March 25th - 26th
- Final Four: April 1st
- National Championship Game: April 3rd
Filling Out Your Bracket: Strategy and Tips
The strategy behind assembling the best possible March Madness bracket is such a deeply-ingrained element of the March Madness experience that it has its own name; bracketology. Below, we share some indispensable tips for putting together a bracket that will crush the competition.
- Do your research: As with any form of betting, research is essential for March Madness. Fortunately, Dimers' March Madness simulator does much of this work for you, allowing users to simulate the tournament as many times as you'd like, while our analytics-based predictive model reveals which teams have the best chance of advancing through any and every round.
- Study the scoring rules of your March Madness pool: While most March Madness pools employ the same scoring system, there is variation; for example, some scoring systems reward extra points for correctly picking upsets, whereas most do not. It's critical to be well-versed on how your bracket will be scored before making your picks, as this can and should have a major impact on strategy, particularly when it comes to picking underdogs.
- Strategize around upsets: An “upset,” by definition, is any game in which the underdog defeats the favorite. However, upsets in March Madness typically pertain to when an underdog defeats a favorite that is at least two seeds higher, such as a 10-seed defeating a 7-seed, but not a 9-seed defeating an 8-seed. By this definition, there have been between nine and 16 upsets in the last 37 NCAA Tournaments. A good rule of thumb is be sure that you are picking a quantity of upsets that falls somewhere in that range. Another helpful tip is that, historically, 12-seeds are almost as likely to pull off upsets in the First Round as 10- or 11-seeds, but because bettors are less likely to predict upsets from 12-seeds, that's where you'll find the most value picking upsets on your own bracket.
- Consider your competition: Perhaps the most essential rule for filling out your March Madness bracket is to keep in mind who will be competing in your pool. In order to be the sole victor, your bracket has to be unique. If the other competitors in your pool are risk-takers, then it's prudent to be conservative, and vice-versa. Don't be afraid to pick nothing but favorites if you suspect most of your competition will be prioritizing upsets!
