The best mascots in this year's March Madness bracket

So many teams, so little time -- how is the casual fan supposed to tackle their March Madness bracket?

There are plenty of strategies on how to make your picks, but one of the most enjoyable methods is to take a good, hard look at each of the schools' mascots.

College and university mascots in the U.S. range from the cute to the bizarre, from good dogs and majestic tigers to ever-so-slightly frightening humanoids like boilermakers and friars.

If you're still having trouble making your picks ahead of Thursday's first round games, check out some of the best mascots in the tournament below. Who knows? Maybe one of these characters will carry you to the championship.