Regardless of how much attention you pay to college basketball during the regular season, the NCAA Tournament annually provides must-see sports entertainment. So whether you are looking for ways to take in all the action wherever you travel, need some help putting together your pool bracket, or want your boss to think you are working when you slip out to watch some daytime games, we have some app recommendations for you.
So tap into all the hardwood action during March Madness with any of these five applications.
March Madness Live (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android -- coming soon -- Free with Subscription)
If you only download one mobile app during this year's tournament, this official title developed by Turner Sports is the one. March Madness Live provides scoring and news updates, bracket creators, and assortment of alerts which will notify you of potential upsets, close games with less than five minutes remaining and games that go into overtime. There is also live chat and the ability to post bracket info to Facebook and Twitter. But these free services are just an appetizer. For $3.99, the app will also live stream all 67 games that take place during the tournament. And you only have to subscribe once to view games on any Apple mobile device you own. Android owners take note. While the app was not yet available to Android smartphones and tablets by press time, the developers promise it will be live and operational prior to the first tip-off.
PocketBracket March Basketball (iPhone, iPod Touch, Android 99 cents)
Bracketology is pretty much a proven science. It takes skill and know-how to pick a March Madness bracket; or a blindfold and a few beers, whichever. PocketBracket: Men's College Basketball lets you get your bracket game on as often as you want with an unlimited number of brackets. If you can sucker your friends into playing along, you can create private pools to see who is the best at randomly picking college basketball games. And of course, the app also offers game scores updated throughout each day's games.
Office Pool Picker 2012 (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad 99 cents)
Not everyone can be an NCAA genius. For those who prefer to pick teams by any means necessary, Office Pool Picker 2012 offers an interesting option -- picking games using weird personal preferences. For instance, do you prefer birds or bees? Captain America or The Hulk? Each question you answer fills up your bracket so you don't have to think about actual basketball for a second. It's a fun, lighthearted app that might just give you a better edge on the office competition than any other app out there.
March Madness Mania (iPhone, iPod Touch 99 cents)
This app has instant analysis from NCAA legends like Dick Vitale, Fran Fraschilla, Andy Katz and more. Users can also read tweets from coaches and read the latest about the news as it happens. March Madness Mania also contains a selection of video replays and highlights in case you prefer your basketball apps a little livelier than brackets and a bunch of text.
Bump (iPhone, iPod Touch, Android Free)
Finally, for those of you hoping to slip out of work during the first round of the tournament and need an alibi for your boss, Bump is a great way to multitask and capture business contacts while you're at the sports bar. For the uninitiated, the revolutionary app exchanges contact information simply by "bumping" another person's device. It's great for courting sales prospects during the breaks in action. This way, you can return to the office with at least the illusion of accomplishment.