Bracketology 101: How To Build a Winning Tournament Bracket

About this episode

Jerry Palm discusses his expertise in bracketology and shares insights on building a winning tournament bracket.

In this episode of “This Is Purdue,” we’re talking to Jerry Palm (BS computer science ’85), a nationally recognized bracketology savant. Jerry was previously the lead bracketologist at CBS Sports and has made countless national media appearances discussing all things college sports. Now he leads his own bracketology website, where he shares his data-driven projections on NCAA Tournament and College Football Playoff team selections and seedings. Jerry breaks down his expert bracket strategy, which is perfectly timed ahead of the upcoming NCAA Tournament that will culminate with the Final Four in downtown Indianapolis on April 4 and 6! This is also an exciting episode for “This Is Purdue” because, for the first time, host Kate Young is joined by a special co-host: Derek Schultz, Purdue spokesman and Indy sports personality! In this episode, you will: Learn more about Jerry’s trailblazing path to being a leading bracketologist Gain knowledge about the art and science behind bracketology, and how Jerry balances both to help make accurate predictions for team selections and seedings Hear about the origins of the bracketology field and Jerry’s journey from accessing scores in the…

People in this episode

Host: Kate Young

Guest: Jerry Palm

Topics covered

• bracketology
• NCAA Tournament
• sports predictions
• data analysis
• Purdue University

Keywords

• bracketology
• NCAA Tournament
• sports
• predictions
• data-driven

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CBS Sports, NCAA, Purdue

Places: Indianapolis

More episodes of This Is Purdue

• So You Want to Be a Content Creator? Why a College Degree Is Still Important · May 28, 2026 · 43 min
• How Speedway, Indiana, Became the Racing Capital of the World and the Home of the Indy 500 · May 14, 2026 · 30 min
• The Science Behind Modern Fashion: Engineering, Fabrics and Sustainability · April 30, 2026 · 43 min
• True Crime, Cold Cases and the ‘CSI’ Effect: A Forensic Science Deep Dive · April 16, 2026 · 42 min
• Live from IND: Final Four and the Host City Experience · April 3, 2026 · 22 min
• In 49 Other States, It’s Just Basketball — Why Indiana Loves the Game · March 19, 2026 · 39 min