The Madness is here. Hailed “the best tournament in sports,” the NCAA D1 Men’s Basketball Tournament never fails to bring drama and excitement. Tomorrow, the First Four will tip off with Alabama State facing St. Francis and San Diego State against North Carolina. On Wednesday, American will face Mount St. Mary’s and Texas will play Xavier. This round will determine the full bracket before the Round of 64 begins on Thursday.
As the teams play for their chance to compete in the Big Dance, fans around the country are filling out their brackets and predicting a champion of this year’s competition. Whether you’re doing a bracket yourself and don’t know where to start or you want to learn more about this year’s field, it’s all covered here in this preview.
Table of Contents
The One Seeds
As the best four teams in the tournament, the one seeds always set the stage for what’s to come and are important for understanding the bracket. This year’s one seeds are Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida.
Auburn
The top-seeded Tigers enter the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all. Their offense is the best of the best led by Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome. Their defense is aggressive as well and can match up physically with any team in the country. They won a stacked SEC with other championship-caliber teams such as Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Needless to say, nobody wants to face Auburn in the tournament this year.
Duke
This Blue Devils team can also be argued as the best team in the country. Led by superstar freshman Cooper Flagg, Duke went 31-3 this year and won the ACC tournament despite Flagg sitting out due to injury. They are one of the most dominant teams in college basketball and have proven they have what it takes to win without Flagg, but they need him healthy throughout this tournament.
Houston
Winners of the Big 12, the Cougars’ defense puts them at the top, with an elite ability to limit the scoring on the other end. They have reached the Sweet 16 the past four years and likely could have made the Final Four last year if not for Jamal Shead‘s knee injury. This year, they look better than ever with their defense paired with aggressive and physical offense, and if they can make it far, it will feel like home games in San Antonio.
Florida
The Gators boast both one of the best offenses and defenses in college basketball. Alex Condon and Alijah Martin lead the squad on the defensive end, while point guard Walter Clayton Jr. steers the offense. With a deep backcourt, Florida will be a popular pick to win it all.
The Rest of the Field
Don’t just rely on the one seeds. Only one time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 did the Final Four consist of all one seeds (in 2008). The question is, who else in the tournament has what it takes to win it all? With coach Tom Izzo at the helm, 2-seed Michigan State can never be counted out. 2-seed Tennessee and 3-seed Texas Tech have what it takes to go all the way as well. Don’t count out 5-seed Clemson or 6-seed Illinois either.
It’s also important to include Big Ten champion 5-seed Michigan, who took down 3-seed Wisconsin (another great team led by John Tonje) in the conference championship. Keep an eye on them, led by the dynamic big-man duo of Vlad Goldin and potential lottery pick Danny Wolf.
I’d stay away from 4-seeds Purdue and Maryland, and don’t buy too much into the hype around Rick Pitino’s 2-seed St. John’s, although they are admittedly one of the most exciting teams in the field.
Potential Upsets
Every year, there are lower-seeded teams that shock the world with “Cinderella runs” by making it further in the tournament than expected. Here are some of my potential upset picks and teams that can make a run this year:
- 12-seed Colorado State (faces 5-seed Memphis in Round of 64)
- 13-seed Grand Canyon (faces 4-seed Maryland)
- 11-seed Drake (faces 6-seed Missouri)
- 13-seed Akron (faces 4-seed Arizona)
My Picks
I’m running multiple brackets this year, but my principal bracket is as follows: I have a Final Four of Auburn, Texas Tech, Duke, and Tennessee, with Duke defeating Auburn for the national championship. Duke is too good this year, and with a healthy Cooper Flagg throughout the tournament, I think they have what it takes to win the whole thing. Obviously, my predictions are subjective. Absolutely anything can happen as the field is nearly impossible to predict. To know what will really happen, we will just have to watch the madness unfold.
