Marquette Wins If: The Golden March madness predictions expert are this year in games where they attempt fewer than 12 free throws, so getting to the rim and drawing. men's NCAA Tournament expert picks: Predictions for Saturday's Final Four games ; Saturday's games in Glendale, Arizona ; Jordan Mendoza. March Madness odds, lines, predictions: Expert picks for NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 games (March ) · Arizona 78, Clemson 74 · UConn Picks For Friday Games ; No. 11 NC State @ No. 2 Marquette ( p.m. ET, CBS): Marquette Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville Observer: NC State ; No.
The answers, according to 73 experts, could be below. Defending champion UConn dominated on its path to winning the Big East regular-season and tournament championship, and everyone is expecting that success to continue. That's even higher than the public's perception of Dan Hurley's squad, as It's a mix of 2-seed Iowa State 3 votes , 3-seed Illinois 4 votes and 4-seed Auburn 5 votes.
If the East Region was nearly a landslide, the South Region is wide open. Our analysts were much closer in those picks than the public, for which What about 2-seed Marquette. Shaka Smart's group has a few supporters, with seven nods. Would this number change if Tyler Kolek hadn't been injured and missed the Big East tournament. Fourth-seeded Duke rounds out the teams getting multiple votes.
Jon Scheyer's second NCAA tournament in as many years at the helm will lead to at least a Final Four appearance, according to six panelists. A handful smell an upset here, though. And "First Take" host Stephen A. A vote apiece also came for 7-seed Florida and 5-seed Wisconsin. We didn't ask our panelists when exactly 1-seed Purdue would fall in the Midwest Region.
But two-thirds believe it will be before the Final Four. Almost half of our 73 panelists, including Hall of Fame analyst Dick Vitale, are going with Rick Barnes' 2-seed Tennessee, while 24 believe in the Boilermakers. Purdue is looking to put last year's historic disappointment behind it and follow the path Virginia walked in , when the Cavaliers won the national championship after also losing to a seed in the first round the previous year.
The 13 remaining panelists who voted for neither the Vols nor the Boilers went with 3-seed Creighton 6 , 4-seed Kansas 4 , 5-seed Gonzaga 1 , 6-seed South Carolina 1 and seed Oregon 1. Among all Tournament Challenge participants, The fourth 1-seed, North Carolina , was selected by our experts to emerge from a West Region that included a few surprises.
The next most popular pick was second-seeded Arizona -- led by former Tar Heel Caleb Love -- as the Wildcats seek their first Final Four appearance since Can the Cats also end the year national championship drought for the Pac. Twenty-four experts think they can at least win the regionals in Los Angeles.
At Tournament Challenge, At the end of it all, though, we have a majority. March madness predictions expert The next closest competitor. The Tide struggled down the stretch, losing four of their final six games. In four of their final five losses, Alabama gave up at least 99 points, including against Kentucky. And, one of these years, Charleston coach Pat Kelsey is going to lead a team on a deep, deep tournament run.
Oh, and go ahead and write No. Like, No. Not seventh of the teams on the West Coast or seventh of the teams that have two names. Seventh overall. A lot can happen in 40 minutes in March that has very little to do with the previous five months. The Pick: Arizona. New Mexico. Grand Canyon. Michigan State. So much talent.
Call me a sucker for March Madness craziness, but how much fun is it when two double-digit seeds face off with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line. Wisconsin looked great in the Big Ten Tournament, no doubt. But how many times do we see teams with a ton of wins in the regular season — hi, James Madison and your 31 Ws — win games in March because they understand how to win?
If the Red Raiders can stave off an upset attempt by red-hot N. State, their likely opponent in the second round would be 3-seed Kentucky. After that, an opportunity might be right there because …. At times this year, Marquette was going to be my dark-horse pick to win the national championship game.
Well, be wary. The Pick: Houston. Expect that embarrassment in the Big 12 Tournament title game to be more than enough motivation for the Cougars to prove that was a fluke. State No. Upset Special: McNeese. Texas, the 7 seed, is No. TCU, the No. Again, health issues make the Jayhawks a tough team to pick right now.
If not, though. Absent concrete information between now and when brackets have to be turned in, flip a coin, I guess. The Pick: Creighton. It would be fitting if the Bluejays rolled to the Final Four to join UConn representing the Big East, after the elite conference landed just three tournament bids.