This year’s March Madness participants (68 teams in all) were announced on March 12, AKA, Selection Sunday. Fans won’t waste any time. They’ll start filling out their brackets on Sunday night. The tournament itself begins the following Tuesday.
This year’s event promises to be the most mobile-friendly tournament we’ve seen. Streaming opportunities abound as well as some awesome apps to help March Madness fanatics manage their brackets. In that spirit, here’s a breakdown of some of the best apps and devices for managing your brackets and streaming the games.
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ESPN Tournament Challenge
This ESPN app is pretty much the gold standard. It enables you to manage your March Madness bracket on your favorite mobile device and track your progress. You can create up to 25 brackets and enter to win $10,000 and a trip to Hawaii! The ESPN Tournament Challenge allows you to take on pro athletes and ESPN analysts to determine who can pick the winners. How awesome is that?
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Pocket Bracket
This app features an easy-to-use interface. It allows you to create unlimited brackets, participate in pools, and follow the games from your iPhone or Android device. If you think you know your way around March Madness, then compete against your friends and co-workers, or challenge other fanatics in the Pocket Bracket community.
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March Madness Live
If you want ultimate flexibility and freedom, get the official March Madness Live app, which allows you to watch whatever game you want on just about any device you want, and for free. A big plus — the app works great with Google Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV.
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CBS Sports
Then there’s the very popular CBS Sports app, which enables you to not only watch the games, but also keep up on the latest scores, predictions, and analysis. They also have a bunch of brackets to choose from. The app works on Android phones, the iPhone, Chromecast, and many other devices.
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SportsCaster
If you’re working or for whatever reason not able to watch the game, the SportCaster app is a great way to keep up to date when your favorite team plays. You can check scores and receive live updates and even Tweets from analysts and players.
It’s hard to believe, but there are still a lot of people who have never participated in a bracket challenge. If you haven’t, make this the year you do – by yourself or with a group of friends or coworkers. And make sure you take advantage of the awesome apps and streaming options that make March Madness 2017 a truly mobile experience. If you’re looking for a better phone to compete on, check out our selection of refurbished iPhones to get you ahead of the game.
Let the hoops begin!