Run a March Madness pool
Fill the bracket. Ride the upsets. One Cinderella run and you're the office legend until next March.
Free for groups up to 10. No app, no spreadsheet.
A March Madness pool is a bracket contest for the NCAA men's basketball tournament: everyone predicts every game from the Round of 64 to the National Championship before tip-off, and picks earn more points the further they go. The most accurate bracket wins. For 2027 the field grows to 76 teams, is announced on Selection Sunday, March 14, 2027, and the bracket you fill out is still 64 teams.
How it works
Create the pool
Spin up your March Madness bracket pool, set the points for each round, and launch in minutes.
Share the link
One link to the group chat or the whole office. Players tap it, set a name and fill their bracket - no account, nothing to install.
Pick and watch
Everyone fills out the bracket before tip-off. We score every round automatically and stack it on a live leaderboard.
March Madness pool rules
A March Madness pool is the classic bracket contest: everyone fills out the tournament bracket before the games start, picking who advances through every round to the champion. Points pile up as your picks survive - and one busted Final Four can sink a perfect-looking sheet.
Just want a bracket to fill in or print, no pool? Use the free March Madness bracket - 64 teams, four regions, no login.
The 2027 tournament
- 76 teams, 64 in the bracket. 2027 is the first year of the bigger field. 24 teams play 12 Opening Round games on March 16-17; the winners take their seed lines, so your bracket starts at the Round of 64.
- Selection Sunday is March 14, 2027. That's when the field, the seeds and the Final Four pairings are announced - and when your pool opens for real.
- Picks lock at the first Round of 64 tip-off on March 18. The Final Four is April 3 and the title game April 5, at Ford Field in Detroit.
How scoring works
- Points per correct pick, rising each round. Later rounds are worth more, so the champion and the Final Four decide most pools. The default is 1 point in the first two rounds, then 2, 3, 5 and 8 for the title - and you can set your own points for every round.
- Highest total wins. Survive the chaos with the most points and you own the office until next March.
Full bracket or round by round
- Full bracket up front is the classic: every pick locks at the first tip-off, and from there you're just watching your sheet live or die.
- Round by round unlocks each round as the field narrows, so a late joiner or a bracket busted on day one still has something to play for.
March Madness pool ideas that actually work
Most pools die of the same three things: people join late, one blowout day kills interest, and the commissioner ends up doing maths. Here's how to run one that lasts to April.
- Open the pool before Selection Sunday. Send the link early so people join while they're still hyped; the bracket fills in the moment the field is announced on March 14, 2027.
- Weight the late rounds, but not absurdly. If the champion is worth more than everything else combined, the pool is over the moment someone's pick goes out. Rising points that still leave the first weekend mattering keep more people in it.
- Go round by round for a casual group. A full bracket rewards the people who studied; round by round keeps the ones who didn't in the game after their Final Four is gone.
- Set the lock and say it loudly. Brackets lock at the first Round of 64 tip-off on March 18. "I'll do mine at lunch" is how half the office misses it.
- Let the leaderboard do the trash talk. Every bracket is public and scored live, so the 12-over-5 call gets its moment and the busted champion gets roasted - no one has to tally anything.
The full walk-through is in how to run a March Madness pool.
Why run it on Trofeo.live
Bracket pools always start with a flurry of texts and one poor soul tallying everyone's sheet by hand. Trofeo.live scores all of them, every round, automatically.
- Auto-grading. Every bracket scored live as games finish, with your round points applied.
- Live leaderboard. Watch the standings shuffle in real time as the upsets land.
- Public proof. Your 12-seed Sweet 16 call gets gassed up; your busted champion gets roasted.
- No app for players. You set it up; they tap a link, set a name and fill their bracket - no account needed, perfect for the office.
Free vs paid sizes
Every pool is free up to 10 players, and players never pay. Need a bigger pool? Pay once for that pool - paid tiers start from $10 one-time, with no subscription.
| Players per pool | Price per pool |
|---|---|
| Up to 10 players | Free |
| Up to 15 players | $10 one-time |
| Up to 25 players | $15 one-time |
| Up to 50 players | $25 one-time |
| Up to 100 players | $50 one-time |
| Up to 1,000 players | $100 one-time |
| Up to 5,000 players | $250 one-time |
| Up to 10,000 players | $500 one-time |
Paid tiers also add your own logo and remove the "Powered by Trofeo.live" badge. See the pricing page for the details, or compare the best March Madness pool apps before you pick one.
Set your scoring, share the link, and let the madness sort everyone out.
Cinderella makes you famous
Call the 12-seed that crashes the Sweet 16 and the office will hear about it for a year. Pick all chalk and bust by the second weekend? That's a story too. Every bracket is public and scored live.
FAQ
What is a March Madness pool?+
It's a bracket contest where everyone predicts the NCAA tournament before it starts - who wins each game through to the champion. Correct picks earn points that rise each round, and the highest total wins.
When does the 2027 March Madness bracket come out?+
On Selection Sunday, March 14, 2027. The committee announces all 76 teams and their seeds, and brackets lock when the Round of 64 tips off on March 18.
How many teams are in the 2027 tournament?+
76, up from 68. 24 of them play 12 Opening Round games first, and the winners join a 64-team bracket - four regions of sixteen - which is the part your pool picks.
How does bracket scoring work?+
Points rise each round, so later rounds matter most. The default is 1 point in each of the first two rounds, then 2, 3, 5 and 8 for the title game, and you can set your own points for every round.
Is it good for an office pool?+
Ideal. Share one link, everyone sets a name and fills a bracket, and the scoring runs itself - no commissioner spreadsheet. It's one of the easiest ways to get a whole office engaged for three weeks.
Can I just print a bracket?+
Yes - our free March Madness bracket tool lets you fill in all 63 games online and print it, no login. Run it as a pool when you want it to score itself.
Is it free?+
Yes - every pool is free up to 10 players, and players never pay. Bigger pools are a one-time payment per pool, from $10, with no subscription.
Predict it live
Put your calls on the line in a real bracket - run a free prediction pool for these events.
Run a March Madness pool
Fill the bracket. Ride the upsets. One Cinderella run and you're the office legend until next March.
Free for groups up to 10. No app, no spreadsheet.