Start flexing those foam fingers, college b-ball fans. The NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments begin this week, and this year, the Mocs will be part of the action.

This year will be the UTC men’s team’s 12th year to make an NCAA tournament appearance — the last time the team made it to the tournament was in 2016.

While the Mocs haven’t been able to clinch a tournament win yet, they did make it to the Sweet 16 once back in 1997, and our ~personal predictions~ see them making it there again. Don’t take our word for it, though — sportswriter + broadcaster Seth Davis also predicted that “the Chattanooga Mocs are going to the Sweet 16.”

We’ll help you sort through all the madness to cheer on our home squad, whether it’s on the couch or the bar stool. Oh, and don’t forget to vote on the best local hikes bracket, which promises to be a real buzzer beater, too.

🏀 Game on

Chattanooga (13) vs. Illinois (4) | Fri., March 18 | 6:50 p.m. | TNT | Like the Mocs' chances? 13 seeds make the next round 21.5% of the time.

🎉 Party till the brackets bust

Miller’s Ale House, 2119 Gunbarrel Rd. | Thursday 11 a.m.-12 a.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-12 a.m. | Catch a game on one of Miller’s 60+ TVs, plus a full menu until close so that you can stress-eat through the buzzer beaters.
Chattanooga Brewing Co., 1804 Chestnut St. | Thursday 3-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-12 a.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-10 p.m. | On Friday, you can cheer on the Mocs with $1 off pints during the game.
Mike’s Hole in the Wall, 535 Cherokee Blvd. | Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-12 a.m. | Cheer on your team with beer, cocktails, and comfort food.

✔️ Winning picks

Spoiler alert — if you’ve joined an office or friend-created NCAA pool, you’re going to get some picks wrong, since the chances of selecting a perfect bracket are 9.2 quintillion to one. You just need to be less wrong than the other participants, so keep these other numbers in mind:

Only once in the past 36 years did all four No. 1 seeds make it to the Final Four in the men’s tournament
But only 18 teams seeded seventh or worse have reached the Final Four
No. 1 seeds in the women's tournament have won almost 80% of championships, and no team seeded worse than No. 3 has won the women's tourney

In other words, pick a few upsets early, stick to mostly higher seeds late, and more than anything else — have fun.