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Using a 28-year streak to pick a March Madness bracket champion originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Everyone has their own trick to picking what they hope is a winning NCAA Tournament bracket.

There's a reason they call it March Madness, though. It's not at all predictable. Well, except for one very blatant geographic trend that, if you follow it, will either create an incredible jinx, or give you a much better chance of getting your national champion pick right.

Here's the thing: Every national champion since 1998 has come from the eastern half of the United States. If you draw a line right down the middle of the contiguous 48 states, you won't find any champions in the last 28 years on the left side of the line. Seriously: Don't even think about a West Coast team in your bracket 🤣 pic.

twitter. com/fxr3ZuWOpj — BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) March 16, 2026 MARCH MADNESS HQ: NCAA bracket | Full TV schedule | Printable bracket Baylor and Kansas push the limits a bit, but other than that, it's really almost all in the eastern third. There have been some impressive teams on the other side of that line.