We’re just a 1 day away from the announcement of the 2010 NCAA Tournament brackets, and BetVega.com is offering you a few tips for how you can improve your chances of winning your March Madness bracket pools in the weeks to come.

Bracket Tip #1:

Someone you’ve never heard of will bust your bracket, but not win it all: This is just inevitable. Some #12 or #13 seed out of some no-name conference is going to do the impossible and beat some unsuspecting #4 or #5 seed which you had playing in the Elite 8. However, right now, we’re not telling you anything that you don’t know. First round upsets are the norm in the NCAA Tournament; after all, they don’t call it “March Madness” for no good reason.

What you need to be careful of is how far these Cinderella teams can go in the tournament. Sure, in relatively recent years, Gonzaga reached the Elite 8 (before the Zags really became known as a power in the WCC), Davidson made it to the Sweet 16, and George Mason advanced to the Final 4. But when push comes to shove, the second weekend of this tournament is when the weaker teams usually weed themselves out. Make sure you keep your top seeds playing in your Elite 8 and Final 4.

Bracket Tip #2:

The West Bracket is going to be wild this year: If you’re wondering how we can already tell that it’s the West Bracket that is going to be a crazy bracket, it’s because we’re assuming that Kansas will be the #1 and the overwhelming favorite in the Midwest, and Kentucky and Syracuse will be able to say the same in the East and South respectively (The Orange can’t play in the East Region because they’re hosting the regional finals). That’s going to basically set up a bracket with a heck of a lot of #2 and #3 seeds in the West, none of which are going to really jump out at you as favorites.

Expect to see either New Mexico or BYU in this bracket as well, which could really shake things up since the Lobos and Cougars are both very much so wild cards that didn’t play against major competitors on a regular basis this year.

Bracket Tip #3:

Watch for teams with home court advantage in the first two rounds: Remember, just because you’re playing in the South Region, it doesn’t mean you’re first two games are being played in the South. If you’re playing in that bracket this season, your first games are played in either Buffalo, Spokane, San Jose, or Oklahoma City. Also remember that teams on the top four lines get preferential treatment in their first two games by the Selection Committee.

That being said, expect to see teams like Gonzaga get a chance to play in Spokane or Kansas State and Kansas getting to play in Oklahoma City. This becomes particularly important for the small schools as well. If Vermont, for example, gets a chance to play in Providence, even if the Catamounts are #14 seeds, they’ll have a huge following because the game will be played in their backyard. And just as is the case with any other college basketball betting affair, HCA is worth a ton of points.