March Madness 2017 Predictions: Expert Final Four Picks For College Basketball Tournament

Over the past 15 years, every national champion except one, Connecticut, a No. 7 seed in 2014, was a No. 1, 2 or 3 seed, so we will limit our value plays to the top-seeded teams. All in all, I wish you all the best of luck with your 2017 brackets (unless you’re competing against me), and may the best, or luckiest, bracket win!

No. 2 Arizona against No. 15 North Dakota.

“It’s the most intense atmosphere you can imagine”.

First, a few trends that are worth noting. One game leads to the next, and then to the next. The Jags upset Alabama in the first round in 1989, and their all-time tournament record is 1-8.

Time for the fun part: A look at the entire 68-team field. While Bucknell over West Virginia might sound like insane talk (in many ways it is), did anyone predict Michigan State to go down to Middle Tennessee last season? So even in this one-and-done era, having some veterans who have gone through the tournament grind once or twice seems to be invaluable to championship hopes.

The other two first-round games in Buffalo: No. 5 Notre Dame (25-9) vs.

For the uninitiated, teams in the tournament are split up into four regions and seeded from No. 1 to 16. Hard to believe that Northwestern has never before gotten included through its many years of playing Big Ten basketball.

Past year millions of brackets were shattered when the 15-seed Middle Tennessee shocked second-seeded (and popular national title pick) Michigan State.

Whoever makes it out of this conference alive will undoubtedly deserve their Final Four berth. The Tar Heels hung on to a No. 1 seed despite losing in the ACC Tournament semifinals to Duke, and that was probably fair. “If you’re in the heartland, steer clear of Kansas and if you’re on the West Coast, select teams other than Gonzaga and UCLA“.

Second round: Villanova over Wisconsin, Florida over UNC Wilmington, Baylor over USC and the teacher beats the student, Duke and Mike Krzyzewski oust Marquette and Steve Wojciechowski. The Wildcats nearly didn’t get there: After starting 12-1, Kansas State limped to an 8-12 finish. And if they pull off the first upset, another buzzsaw awaits in Iowa State, who boasts a three-headed monster of Monte Morris, Naz Mitrou-Long and Deonte Burton.

The marquee region, without question. Villanova was expected to be the No. 1 seed in the East Regional and its path toward becoming the first repeat champion since Florida in 2007 starts Thursday in Buffalo against Mount St. Mary’s or New Orleans.

Not on my bracket, but my Final Four picks – Villanova and Kansas along with second seeds Kentucky and Arizona – aren’t far off. No. 2 seed matchup (and epic rematch) would be Wichita State vs. Kentucky in the round of 32, which is unfair for both parties involved. North Carolina would also be must-see television, but the possible Sweet 16 rematch between these two is tough to pass up.

Final: North Carolina over UCLA.

The only team during that stretch that didn’t have at least one elite point guard was Duke’s 2010 team, but even they were led future National Basketball Association guards Nolan Smith and Jon Scheyer.

Wichita State, a team that went 30-4 and ranked eighth in the KenPom rankings, inexplicably received a No. 10 seed from the committee, which creates all sorts of imbalance within the South region.