March is here and that can only mean one thing for sports lovers, March Madness is back and it will be one of the craziest tournaments anyone has seen in years.
Throughout the whole regular season in college basketball, there have been many moves in the rankings and it felt like there was a different number-one ranked team each week.
With this being the case, there should be plenty of buzzer-beaters, last-second stands, and overtime games that will keep fans watching and engaged.
In the South, Auburn is the number one seed and has been picked as the national champion in 10.8% of ESPN’s brackets.. While the Tigers are a very good team led by a finalist for player of the year, Johni Broome, right now it’s debatable if they should be the favorite to win that side of the bracket. Auburn has lost three out of its last four games, including an exit in the SEC tournament and a loss to Tennessee in the semifinals. The Michigan Wolverines are a team that could be a potential threat. They are just coming off a Big Ten conference title and are a team that can shoot the ball really well and compete with just about anyone in the country.
In the East, Duke is the number one seed and carries a +350 odds to win the entire tournament. One of the main reasons Duke is so heavily favored is thanks to their star freshman, Cooper Flag, who is projected to go number one in the NBA draft. Some notable names that stand in the way of Duke are Oregon and Arizona who have both built some well-rounded teams. Ultimately though, many don’t think that they have the same star power as Duke.
In the Midwest, the Houston Cougars are the number one seed but probably not who people will expect to see winning that side of the bracket. The Tennessee Volunteers pose the biggest threat to Houston and it is very reasonable why they do. Tennessee made it to the SEC championship game this season, one of the greatest and most competitive conferences in college basketball history. There are 14 SEC teams in the whole tournament and the Vols are one of the best in it.
In the West, Florida is the number one seed and enters the tournament carrying the same odds of winning as Duke. UCONN is a team that has championship experience but has not rallied together as a team this year as they have done in previous years.
Getting to the Final Four, the editors have different predictions.
Deputy Sports Editor Brandon Amaya, predicts Duke, Florida, Tennessee and Michigan.
“I believe that Michigan will deliver the upset of beating a number one seed in their region and will roll but will fall short ,” Brandon Amaya said.
Sports Editor Conner Shelton, predicts Florida, Duke, Tennessee and Michigan.
“Florida could beat the NBA’s Hornets,” Conner Shelton said. “They shoot the ball that well, and have top NBA prospect talent on their team.”
As for the National Championship, Conner Shelton predicts Florida to win it all and Brandon Amaya predicts Duke.
Let the madness begin.
