You have to have a plan.

As you sat there, staring at your NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship bracket, wondering whether to pick Western Kentucky over Drake, you probably had an iron-clad strategy.

Maybe you spent countless hours watching college basketball during the season, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each team.

Perhaps you did research on the Web. Maybe you Googled Oral Roberts — and got more results than you bargained for.

You might even have listened to Bobby Knight and picked the Pittsburgh Panthers to maul their way to the Final Four.

No matter how well versed you are in the world of college basketball, though, Bracketology is as mysterious as Scientology.

Tom Cruise has just as much chance of filling out a winning bracket — and dancing on a couch — as we do.

Yet, we pick the games anyway, using our own methods.

Here's some examples of my March Madness.

First Round

Kent State over UNLV. Reason: The alma-mater factor.

I graduated from Kent State, therefore I am contractually obligated to pick the Golden Flashes in the first round of any NCAA tournament they appear in, especially if they were to match up against Pitt.

Good thing I didn't go to Texas-Arlington.

Second Round

Butler over Tennessee. Reason: Mid-majors rule.

Plus, it's Butler. Not the Golden Tornado, but close enough.

Third Round

Xavier over Duke. Reason: Xavier Nady could beat up Zach Duke.

Elite Eight

Georgetown over Kansas. Reason: No. 1 seeds rarely get this far and I already have two other No. 1 seeds getting to the Final Four.

Besides, the quarter came up heads.

Final Four

UCLA over Texas. Reason: The "Golden C."

Recently, UCLA has been wearing a jersey that features the U, the L and the A in blue and the C in gold.

It's unusual. Ugly, but unusual. It looks like one of those T-shirts you made as a kid with the iron-on letters. Tacky, yes. Different, you betcha. And different wins.

Championship Game

North Carolina over UCLA. Reason: The Tar Heels graduate.

UNC is the only school in the entire 65-team field (yes, 65) that graduates more than 50 percent of its players.

That means they are smart. So what if they don't play defense? Brain power wins championships, not D.

Note: This is of educational use only. If you read the fine print at the bottom of your, cough, office pool bracket, you will see this:

"The NCAA opposes all sports wagering. This bracket should not be used for sweepstakes, contests, office pools or other gambling activities."

In really fine print it says, "So, go ahead, pick Mount St. Mary's to beat UNC. We bet you won't."

By the way, is it really "gambling" if you have no chance to win?

Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle