It's bracket season, the time when everyone from hardcore college-basketball fans to those who can't name one Pittsburgh Panther enters the office's NCAA tournament pool.

The trouble with bracket time, though, is that even the most analytical thinkers get corrupted by the archenemy of objectivity: emotion. It doesn't matter if your alma mater is stumbling down the stretch like Villanova; you're still having them win their first game. Likewise, if Kansas burned you last season, you're determined to prevent the Jayhawks from...