The brackets are back.
The NCAA men's and women's tournaments released their pairings Sunday, kicking off three days of prognostication and pools for college basketball fans across the country.
Chances are, several people you know will be working on their brackets today, hoping for a little glory. Several sports sites on the Web have contests that give away prizes, while circles of friends will compare brackets for bragging rights - and maybe a little cash.
An article in Sunday's Detroit Free Press, said "employers nationwide lose about $101 million in productivity for every 10 minutes their employees spend obsessing about the tournament, according to New York outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas."
Area fans will be debating the tournament runs of a pair of local teams:
The Yellow Jackets (19-11) open the tournament in Nashville, Tenn., against George Washington, which won the Atlantic 10 Conference.
But for the team to repeat its trip to last season's NCAA championship game, Georgia Tech will have to have its running shoes on. Five of the top 16 scoring teams in the country are in the regional - led by Washington and Wake Forest.
The Lady Bulldogs (22-9) received the No. 6 seed in the Chattanooga Regional and face No. 11 Rice in the opening round in Dallas. With a victory, Georgia could get a rematch against third-seeded Texas. The Lady Bulldogs grabbed a 78-64 home win Nov. 21, when the Lady Longhorns were ranked No. 2.
Log on to http://augustachroniclecom/hoops/ to make your picks and play The Augusta Chronicle’s Hoops Hysteria Contest for a chance to win prizes.
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