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bracketology

/ˌbrækɪˈtɑlədʒi/
IPA guide

Bracketology is the process of guessing who will win each elimination round in a college basketball tournament. Your own bracketology might consist of picking winners whose team mascots you like best.

ESPN basketball analyst Joe Lunardi is credited with coining the term bracketology in the 1990s. It comes from the method used to guess the outcome of the men's and women's NCAA tournaments. Starting with 68 teams and ending with two in the final game, winners are predicted for each single-elimination round using a bracket, or tree diagram. If you're not into basketball, you can use bracketology for other contests, like the coolest superhero or the best-ever animated movie.

Definitions of bracketology
  1. noun
    analysis and predictions about teams in a sports tournament, especially of NCAA college basketball competitions
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