It’s that time of year when many of us become instant experts on assist-to-turnover ratio, defensive efficiency, and a beautiful screen and roll. The art of the perfect bracket will have many of us consulting expert analysis and dusting off our statistics textbooks to figure out which 12-seed will win this year. Look no further – I have the only methodology you’ll need to win the family pool! Back again is the return of O∆K Bracketology.

If you aren’t familiar with annual O∆K tradition, here are the rules:

1. If one school has a circle and then other does not, the school with the circle wins.

2. If both schools have a circle, the circle with the oldest circle wins.

3. If neither school has a circle, the higher seed wins.

You can see the official O∆K bracket below. It has Davidson College, with its circle established in 1917, defeating the University of Alabama, with its circle established in 1924, in the national championship.

Now, I’m a proud graduate of Davidson College. I spent four wonderful years there as an undergraduate, and it is where I met my wife Joanne who is an alumna and former shooting guard for the Wildcats. Davidson is also where I was initiated into Omicron Delta Kappa – a tradition I hope our four children will continue when they become Wildcats one day.

There are lots of colleges and universities with circles in tournament. At this time, I hope many will remember those collegiate members who are participating in this annual American ritual as players, managers, trainers, cheerleaders, musicians, and fans. Leading can be fun too, and we celebrate not only those involved with the men’s NCAA Division I tournament, but those participating in the women’s DI (go Coach Dawn Staley and the Lady Gamecocks of the University of South Carolina – my graduate alma mater) tournament as well as those connected to the DII and DIII, NIT, and NAIA championships.

May your favorite team be successful, but right now, the Clifford family is cheering, “All Hail, O Davidson!” #CatsAreWild