March Madness odds
March Madness is upon us, and you know what that means – it’s time to scope out the competition and make predictions on who is going to make it and who isn’t. Even if you have a passing interest in collegiate basketball, this tournament is always a great way to see how collegiate basketball teams measure up to one another.
So today we’re taking a look at the most common predictions for this year’s tournament, broken down by region. We have followed the top seeds in each region, along with the biggest risers and fallers in each category.
If you’re interested in making predictions of your own, check out some March Madness odds.
Midwest Region
Our top seed for the Midwest region is the Baylor Bears who are closely followed by the Kansas Jayhawks and the UCLA Bruins. The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Alabama Crimson Tide still loom in this category at seeds 4 and 5 and have proven in the past that they can field great college athletes.
The Buckeyes are the biggest risers within this category, being projected to lead the Big Ten thanks to promising power forward E.J. Liddell. If he plays at his best, the Ohio State team have a lot of upside in the tournament.
As for the Midwest team that has flagged the most, that’d be the Seton Hall Pirates. Having fallen to 10 seed despite a promising start in the season, they then lost five games.
East Region
For the East region, we have the Purdue Boilermakers at seed 1, so they’re definitely the ones to look out for in this category. Following closely behind are second and third seeds are the Wildcats, from both Kentucky and Arizona respectively. Then, at fourth and fifth seeds, are the Villanova Wildcats (again, more Wildcats) and the LSU Tigers.
The biggest risers are actually those with the #1 seed position – the Purdue Boilermakers. They haven’t been in the Final Four since 1980 but, with the way things are going, this could be their year. Their defense is outclassed by their offense, however, which may cost them the opportunity.
Where the fallers are concerned, the LSU Tigers are slipping from their fifth seed position and any Final Four hype they carried in with them has quickly dissipated. The Big East provides too much competition as it stands.
South Region
While the LSU Tigers are flagging in the East, it’s the Auburn Tigers that are leading the South at first seed by most people’s predictions. Then, at the second and third seed, we have the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan State Spartans, closely followed by the Houston Cougars and the Providence Friars.
Our biggest riser from this region comes out of the Atlantic 10, which doesn’t usually get much attention, but the Davidson Wildcats have been great so far. Sure, they’re still at 9 seed, but they came a long way to get there.
While there haven’t been any out-and-out failures in the South, the performance of the North Carolina Tar Heels has been very inconsistent in this season. That inconsistency is dangerous if it strikes at the wrong time, though they could still compete in the tournament once they have become better coordinated.
West Region
Lastly, in the West, we find the Gonzaga Bulldogs leading the region as the first seed. Behind them are the Duke Blue Devils and the Texas Tech Red Raiders, in that order. So naturally, if it isn’t obvious already, there have been quite a few upsets this season.
As for the team to watch, the Indiana Hoosiers are primed with Trayce Jackson-Davis to become competitive in this tournament. He joins the already solid lineup of the Hoosiers to present a threat to other nearby franchises.
At seventh seed, the Texas Longhorns entered this season confidently. However, Marcus Carr doesn’t seem to gel with the rest of the team yet, which makes sense as he’s a transfer. It may get better with time but with March Madness already underway, the Longhorns are fresh out of it.
March Madness Predictions
Now that we know how the seeds are stacked after this season, who is going to win? We don’t know – nobody does – but at present, the winner amongst the Final Four is looking like the Gonzaga Bulldogs. While many were skeptical, the Bulldogs have hit #1 and will probably stay there.
If not the Bulldogs, the Purdue Boilermakers, and the two Wildcats teams from Kentucky and Arizona are solid challenges to any team’s dominance. That includes the Auburn Tigers, too.
Conclusion
That’s a brief rundown of the most competitive teams currently in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament. Who will win remains to be seen, we can only guarantee that it’ll be an interesting month as collegiate stars collide on the court. From this, we’ll find even more great young athletes for the future NBA.
For older players on some of these teams, they have everything to play for. A great performance here could be somebody’s key to joining the NBA and they won’t appreciate a seed ranking standing in their way.
