The NCAA March Madness Tournament is upon us. Everyone is trying to create that perfect bracket, and place their bets on the winner. In our article, we will be discussing who we have winning the tournament. Before we do that, here are the seedings of the tournament. The 68 teams rank as follows from 1-68:
- Connecticut (31-3)
- Houston (30-4)
- Purdue (29-4)
- North Carolina (27-7)
- Tennessee (24-8)
- Arizona (25-8)
- Marquette (25-9)
- Iowa State (27-7)
- Baylor (23-10)
- Creighton (23-9)
- Kentucky (23-9)
- Illinois (26-8)
- Duke (24-8)
- Kansas (22-10)
- Auburn (27-7)
- Alabama (21-11)
- BYU (23-10)
- San Diego State (24-10)
- Wisconsin (22-13)
- Saint Mary’s (CA) (26-7)
- Gonzaga (25-7)
- Clemson (21-11)
- Texas Tech (23-10)
- South Carolina (26-7)
- Florida (24-11)
- Washington State (24-9)
- Texas (20-12)
- Dayton (24-7)
- Nebraska (23-10)
- Utah State (27-6)
- Florida Atlantic (25-8)
- Mississippi State (21-13)
- Michigan State (19-14)
- Texas A&M (20-14)
- TCU (21-12)
- Northwestern (21-11)
- Nevada (26-7)
- Boise State (22-10)
- Colorado (24-10)
- Drake (28-6)
- Virginia (23-11)
- New Mexico (26-9)
- Oregon (23-11)
- Colorado State (24-10)
- N.C. State (22-14)
- Duquesne (24-11)
- Grand Canyon (29-4)
- James Madison (31-3)
- McNeese State (30-3)
- UAB (23-11)
- Vermont (28-6)
- Yale (22-9)
- Samford (29-5)
- Charleston (27-7)
- Oakland (23-11)
- Akron (24-10)
- Morehead State (26-8)
- Colgate (25-9)
- Long Beach State (21-14)
- Western Kentucky (22-11)
- South Dakota State (22-12)
- Saint Peter’s (19-13)
- Longwood (21-13)
- Stetson (22-12)
- Montana State (17-17)
- Grambling State (20-14)
- Howard (18-16)
- Wagner (16-15)
Here are our 3 expert opinions on the tournament:
Jack O’Donnell:
As you can see on my bracket I have UConn losing in the round of 32. Many people believe this is a ludicrous pick, but I believe that it is valid due to the fact that they lost to Seton Hall, a team that was unranked. I actually believe they should have been a top 25 team, but that is for a different debate. Also, they lost to Creighton, who is a very good team who I believe has potential to go far in the tournament. Lastly, they beat Villanova, who had a very bad year this year and wasn’t that good and they only won this game by one point.
James Amorosi:
My Bracket has a tough final four with UConn, North Carolina, Duke, and Kansas. I think that UConn will come out on top as their team has really been clicking this season. Their chemistry coming into this tournament seems very good and I think that will carry to all aspects of their game. I predict their defense and shooting will be very good throughout the tournament and that will lead them to success.
Greg Randall:
Overall I have Houston winning as I feel their defense and offense are just on another level, and they’re just due. My most significant upset is Auburn over UConn in the Elite Eight. I think UConn is hyped up too much, and I feel like the most popular pick to win it all never usually wins. You can also see I have McNeese St making a little bit of a run to the Sweet 16, I can’t really explain it but I got a feeling about them. Another pick that may be surprising to some people is Samford over Kansas in the first round, but I think it’s a no brainer. Kansas is going to be playing without their leading scorer, and even with him they were only in the top 60% of offenses across the NCAA. When I get a perfect bracket, don’t be switching up.
We hope to see some electric and great basketball throughout the tournament. We think that can definitely happen this year. Look out for the upsets we predicted and enjoy the dance!