When are March Madness brackets due for pools and contests? Sooner the better

While March Madness unofficially started with the conference tournaments, now that Selection Sunday has passed, it's time to fill out a bracket for your office pool or friend group. Victory could mean bragging rights for the next year-plus and a fatter wallet while you're at it. Defeat means, well, nothing – because who could possibly predict a perfect bracket?

When filling out a March Madness bracket, it is important to remember that this is all, for the most part, for fun. It's relatively impossible to predict every upset correctly, but if you want some tips, there are traditionally between seven and 12 upsets per tournament, per the NCAA. The study done by the NCAA does not take 8-9 matchups into account, however.

As fans and casual viewers alike rush to submit their bracket(s) over the next few days, a set deadline is incredibly important for fairness' sake.

When are March Madness brackets due?

March Madness brackets are usually due on Thursday prior to the start of first-round games. The official deadline for submission will vary based on the website, as outlined via the table below.

Thankfully, brackets are not due on Tuesday prior to the First Four games, or any matchups between 16 seeds to determine which gets the honor to face the likes of No. 1 seeds Auburn or Duke. Filling out a bracket can be stress-inducing, but it's important to remember that we are all amateurs as it pertains to picking college basketball games correctly this March. It doesn't matter if you've watched one game or 100 this season. There is a lot of luck involved in winning a bracket pool. That's the fun of March Madness.

What happens if you miss the bracket deadline? Second-chance bracket, explained

If you miss the bracket deadline, I have good and bad news for you. Let's start with the bad news: You likely cannot enter in certain pools or competitions as a result of missing said deadline. Your place of work, for example, is unlikely accept a late bracket. The good news is that second-chance brackets do exist, though they are less prevalent in organized pools and competitions. ESPN has a Sweet 16 challenge, which gives fans the chance to resubmit a bracket at the time there are only 16 teams left in the tournament.

The second type of second-chance bracket can occur in smaller, more organized pools, in which participants are allowed to fill out a second bracket before the second weekend of the tournament.