March Madness iPhone apps to help hard workers hardly work

If you’re like me, you’re trying to follow this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) while working — or the other way around. Either way, a lot of you probably don’t have the same luxury that I do of being able to work from home, near my TV, some days, so you’ll need to follow the action remotely. And if you have an iPhone or iPod touch, there’s a huge number of applications to help you do just that.

But which one(s) should you get? Well, Apple has some recommendations:

CBS Sports NCAA® March Madness On Demand®: Live video of the games, access to tournament brackets, up-to-the minute scores, and the ability to click directly from brackets into live video. $4.99

PocketBracket: March Madness: Create tournament brackets for the biggest games right on your phone and track results, team stats, scores, and rankings throughout March Madness. $0.99.

Brackets: Catch up on the latest scores of all of the March Madness games and see how your bracket predictions rank against the competition. $0.99.

Big Ten Highlights: Get video highlights from your favorite Big Ten teams right on your iPhone. Free.

NCAA Highlights: Whether you want the highlights from yesterday’s game or games back in the day, this application gives you all of the video action you need heading into March Madness. Free.

DukeMobile and Duke Hoops: Follow the Blue Devils to the final four this year with these applications. Keep updated with scores and standings of your favorite team. DukeMobile: Free. Duke Hoops: $0.99.

Tar Heel: An app specifically designed for Tar Heel fans. Get the latest information, schedule, stats and scores as North Carolina heads into March Madness. Free.

UNC Hoops: Let’s go Tar Heels! Stay connected with your team as you watch them travel toward the NCAA championship! $0.99.

Conn Hoops: Watch the Huskies make it through March Madness with this basketball application. $0.99.

KU Hoops: Perfect for every Kansas fan. Follow the men’s basketball team all the way to the top! $0.99.

Go Jayhawks: Rock chalk Jayhawk! Get the latest scores, player information and game schedule for your Jayhawk’s team as the go up the rank towards the NCAA championship. $4.99.

iFanPittsburgh, iFanOklahoma, iFanMichiganState, iFanLouisville: Whether you’re a Panthers, Sooners or a Spartans fan, these iFan applications give you the latest team information and scores throughout the NCAA tournament. $0.99 each.

Two UNC and Duke apps? I smell bias. Where are the Michigan-specific apps? My 10th-seeded Wolverines knocked off number 7 seed Clemson yesterday; they deserve some more love than just a Big Ten Highlights app, I think. Here’s one.

The CBS Sports March Madness app is currently the number one app in the App Store, and if you need live video, that’s probably the one to get — although it will only work over Wi-Fi (live audio still works for 3G and Edge connections).

Apple will also be offering each of the Final Four games on iTunes the day after they air for $1.99 apiece.

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)