Defining Bracketology: “March Madness Before the Madness”

Monday, 07 March 2011 | by Pat's Picks

There’s a new buzz word this month says the Philadelphia Inquirer: bracketology. In short, it’s the “art and science of forecasting in advance who will play in the NCAA tournament.” Put another way, it’s “March Madness before the Madness.” The Inquirer interviews the man who coined the term in today’s paper and gives his predictions for this year’s tourney. Joe Lunardi, who teaches a class on bracketology, says despite his expertise he lets him dogs select the bracket in his house: “He picks all the dogs [mascots] and against the cats.”

Lunardi is a constant figure on ESPN during March Madness—the network even has an official bracketology website.