Countdown is On to Getting the Edge on NCAA® March Madness®

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Bracketologists, our favorite time of the year is finally here. The conference tournaments are coming to a close. The at-large bids are patiently waiting for their tickets to get punched. And the field of 68 is ready to be set. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for. And as March Madness begins, the best place to get help filling out your bracket this year starts with Bing at Bing.com/marchmadness.

Last year, Bing’s smarter bracket picked 73 percent of the games correctly and finished in the top 30 percent of all brackets created nationwide—outpacing Google, Facebook and Sports Illustrated brackets.

Last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella used Bing Predicts in our smarter bracket to help formulate his own March Madness picks. The results? Using Bing as a guide, Nadella’s bracket was better than over 99% of ALL brackets created. I guess that’s why he’s in charge.

All of this intelligence can be yours too…

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But how does our smarter bracket work? First, it is powered by Bing Predicts. We use our intelligent machine learning technology to analyze social and search signals and more than a decade of extensive NCAA statistical data to bring you insights on every single one of your picks for your bracket.

Our bracket provides Bing Predicts insights on a game-by-game, round-by-round basis all the way to the final game. Use the Bing bracket as a guide to help you build your own. So, even if you don’t choose the exact same picks as Bing, you can still get Bing Predicts analysis on your own bracket.

                

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As the official bracketologist of the NCAA, we wanted to make sure we could create a bracket experience that understood the needs of bracket builders of all types.

For the analytically inclined, our Bing predictions are with you every step of the bracket building journey. But if you’re someone who likes to follow your heart, listen to your instincts or meet your soulmate by swiping right, our mobile experience is perfect for you. Access the Bing mobile smarter bracket by downloading the Bing mobile app for Android and iOS or searching “March Madness” on any browser on Bing.

Swipe right or left on each matchup—pick by team, mascot or even team stats. It’s a completely new, fun way to look at March Madness. Either way, start building your bracket with Bing and do not call your bracket final without consulting our builder. We have the edge for you this season.

Buzzer.

Now that the bracket has officially been announced, our data scientists are in the lab, working tirelessly to perfect their models so our smarter bracket is powered by Bing Predicts and ready for you to access by Monday morning. Stay tuned for an updated analysis of the Bing smarter bracket on the Bing blog tomorrow.

You can also head to your local Microsoft store where all devices will have Bing’s bracket experience to build a smarter bracket. Additionally, fans at select stores can enter to win tickets to a local March Madness game, and fans in The Woodlands, Texas, will be able to meet Basketball Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler and have a chance to win tickets to the Men’s NCAA® Final Four® in Houston, two night hotel accommodations and access passes to Final Four® Fan Fest. Visit the Microsoft store Facebook page to learn more about dates and times for ticket giveaways at the following stores:

Fifth Ave and 53rd St. (New York), Kenwood Towne Center (Cincinnati), King of Prussia Mall (King of Prussia, Pa.), Oakbrook Center (Oak Brook, Ill.), Park Meadows Mall (Lone Tree, Colo.), Penn Square Mall (Oklahoma City), Providence Place (Providence, R.I.), Saint Louis Galleria (St. Louis), South Coast Plaza (Costa Mesa, Calif.), The Streets at Southpoint (Durham, N.C.), The Woodlands Mall (The Woodlands, Texas).

Our bracket will go live by 6am ET Monday 3/14. You can check here.

- The Bing Team