March Madness: Play Realtime Brackets to stay in the game

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 27: A Villanova Wildcats basketball goes through the net during warmups prior to the game against the Seton Hall Pirates at the Wells Fargo Center on January 27, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

March Madness is finally here! This year, don’t burn your bracket after day one. Instead, play Realtime Brackets and stay in the game.

Selection Sunday just wrapped up, meaning we now have a complete look at the official National Championship Bracket. March Madness is here!

But we all know the pain of tearing up the bracket after just 48 hours of tournament play. Better luck next year, right? Meanwhile, your sister… or Dan in accounting (who picks the games based off the mascots) cruise to the finals of your bracket group.

Sigh.

Good news. That’s a thing of the past. Why? Because this year, your bracket is unbustable.

That’s because this year you’ll be playing Realtime Brackets with Sports Illustrated. Remember last year? The No. 1 overall seed Virginia got upset by No. 16 UMBC. If you were hoping to ride the Cavaliers to the title, your bracket was broken beyond repair.

This year, with Realtime Brackets, that won’t happen.

SI’s Realtime Brackets let you switch your pick during live tournament games if your original pick is losing. The earlier in the game you switch to the winning call, the more points you’ll earn. So if you swap your pick with 12 minutes left in the second half, you’ll earn more points than if you wait until the final seconds.

Both Realtime and Tradition-style brackets will be tracked – so you can constantly keep an eye on both leaderboards and see how you stack up to the competition.

To sign up and play, click here. Come join in on the fun!