The NCAA tournament kicks off with the first four games on Tuesday, March 19 and the First Round starts on Thursday. Some of the main storylines of this year’s tournament include possible upsets and number one seeds.
Storylines
Some double-digit teams could be shaking up everyone’s brackets and the March Madness tournament as a whole.
One of the first noteworthy teams is North Carolina State (11 seed). They surprised the entire college basketball world by winning the ACC tournament, beating blue bloods like North Carolina and Duke who are the one and four seeds, respectively, in the Big Dance. I would definitely pick them to beat Texas Tech (6) in the first round and I wouldn’t leave out the opportunity of them beating Kentucky (3), who lost in the first round in the SEC tournament to Texas A&M, who was the seven seed in that tournament.
One of the most popular upset picks is the 12 seed beating the 5 seed. McNeese (12) has Gonzaga (5) on upset alert. The McNeese Cowboys have been called “the best underrated team in the country” and are one of the nation’s best in points off turnovers, and four of their top five scorers are shooting better than 40% from 3-point range. Their 30-3 record is very noticeable, but be careful picking the upset, as they didn’t face any teams that made this year’s NCAA tournament. McNeese could possibly make it to the Sweet 16 – if they beat Gonzaga, they would probably face Kansas (4) who could have two of their best starters out for part of the tournament.
The Purdue Boilermakers are one of the four numbr one seeds in this year’s tournament, led by star Zach Edey. Despite their consistency in being a top-4 seed since 2017, they haven’t had much success in the tournament, as they haven’t been to the Final Four since 1980 and have lost in the 1st round in two of the last three NCAA tournaments. I would not recommend this team to win it all.
Another team at the top is the UConn Huskies. The defending champions are the number one team in the country, with an amazing 31-3 record in one of the best conferences in the country: the Big East. Their backcourt is arguably the best in the country with Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer. Those two seniors lead the Huskies in scoring and assists per game with 15.2 PPG and 14.5 PPG, respectively. Center Donovan Clingan is a force on the boards who averages 7.2 rebounds per game and 12.5 PPG. In the Big East Championship game, he ended the first half with a double double and finished the game with 16 rebounds and 22 points. I could easily see UConn repeating this year as the national champion.
Bracket Suggestions
A 15 seed has won in the first round in three consecutive years and all three reached the Sweet 16 as well. So if you’re in a big league, don’t be scared to pick something uncommon so that other people don’t have the same predictions as you. There were zero number one seeds in last year’s Final Four, which ended a 10-tourney streak, but I would recommend picking higher seeds, as last year was a very rare instance. I hope you enjoyed this article and found it interesting and helpful. Good luck with your brackets!
(Source: ESPN)
