March Madness is in full swing. And if you didn't fill out a bracket or join your office pool in time, you might be experiencing a bit of FOMO.

That's where we come in.

It's not too late to join USA TODAY Sports' March Madness Survivor Pool! Entrants have until tipoff of the last first-round games to make their picks and enter for a chance to win $2,500 for both the men's and women's tournaments, which means you could win up to $5,000 if you survive the longest in both contests.

Getting in now could swing the odds in your favor.

For example, a large percentage of entrants in the men's challenge were eliminated during the first day of games. Entering play Friday, only 3,677 of 7,598 (48%) of participants were still alive. That means less competition.

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The final men's and women's first-round games tip off at 10:05 and 10:30 p.m. ET, respectively, so you'll need to make your selections before then to be eligible.

Here's how you can get in on the action:

  1. Click this link.
  2. Register for one or both of the men's and women's challenges. Make a small number of selections each round.
  3. Survive the longest without making a wrong pick and you could win some serious cash.

There are several tips and tricks for how to win a March Madness survivor pool, so let's go over some highlights. Because you can only pick a team once during the entire tournament, it's important to be strategic with your selections. If you think the UConn women are going all the way, don't pick them in the first round.

You'll also need to make three selections in the first round, so don't wait too long to make those picks! If there aren't enough first-round games yet to tip off for you to fulfill three selections, you won't be able to play. Fewer teams also mean fewer options to pick, which could result in a higher chance of getting locked out of your preferred selections later in the game.

So, what are you waiting for?

Rules to remember: Correctly pick a select number of March Madness winners each round. If any of your picks lose, you're eliminated. If all your picks hit in a given round, you survive and earn points equal to those teams' cumulative seed value. You can only select each team once for the entire tournament. If you fail to make any or all of your picks in a given round, you're eliminated.

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