Jack Bowen is an author of a book on sports and ethics, and teaches high school courses on ethics and philosophy. When it came time to fill out a bracket for the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament for a pool at work this year, he did not feel right about it.

Given the scandals that plague college basketball, including several teams and coaches that have advanced to this week’s round of 16 games, not filling out a bracket was one ethicist’s form of quiet protest.

“I chose not to do the men’s bracket, but I am doing the women’s bracket,” Bowen said, and he laughed at the questionable line he drew. “Now, what have I done here?”

What are any of us doing here?

Every March, millions of Americans fill out brackets (more than 40 million people, by one count), cheer the underdogs and tune in on television. Others buy tickets to the games, wear jerseys of their favorite teams and let wins and losses dictate their mood.