March Madness grips the market again. Ardent fans are gearing up to cheer their favorite basketball team and brackets are made. The annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament is quite a challenge for sports analysts when it comes to predicting the winner. Picking the right stocks is equally dicey as investors might either win big or lose all.

The frenzy of the March Madness hits all, compelling investors to keep an eye on stock market movements. In fact, historically, March Madness tournaments mostly concur with strong stock gains.

We are also in the middle of a nine-year bull run that is backed by business-friendly tax cut policies and solid economic growth at home and abroad. Investors have also breathed a sigh of relief after the recent trade war fears on Trump’s tariffs plan somewhat eased, while the current ouster of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is nothing but a temporary blip.

As the broader trend remains positive, it will be prudent to bet on fundamentally sound companies that could make the most of the March Madness.

March Madness Keeps Sports & Market Analysts on Toes

Most of the Americans will agree that March Madness is an electrifying phenomenon that dominates national sports starting the second week of March through the first week of April. March Madness is basically a name given to the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which determines the national champions of college basketball. Around 68 men’s teams and 64 women’s teams will be participating. This tournament is so popular that more number of Americans are expected to fill the tournament bracket than those who have voted for President Trump last year.

March Madness, of course, is a huge revenue-generator for the NCAA. As per the American Gaming Association, Americans are expected to gamble a staggering $10 billion on the tournament this year, which almost matches the GDP of countries like Armenia, Malta and Namibia. Most of the bets, however, will happen under the table. Only 3% of the betting is expected to be legal.