March Madness Brackets! We’ve got brackets!
The best 3 weeks of the year are finally here, and we are ready to pounce. We will have individual game selections for you all week and throughout the tournament at Hoops HQ, but we wanted to share some of our initial plays to advance before these markets began to shift – perhaps drastically.
Duke + Arizona to reach the Final Four (+219, DK)
There are no sure things in the tournament. Maybe it will be all chalk in the Final Four, or maybe not. But these have been arguably the two best teams in the country from start to finish, with fewer ebbs than most. They are battle-tested; neither had to win its conference tournament, but both did. It would not be surprising in the least if they met in the final game of the season.
Arizona to reach title game (+175, FD) Arizona to win title (+390, FD)
These odds began to dip from +400 within the first hour it was posted. If you are going to go chalk – and there are plenty of good reasons to go chalk – then you need to go chalk as soon as possible. This will be bet down a ton by Thursday, and even further come Sunday night. We like the Wildcats’ path. They were the best team from start to finish in the best conference. They took on all comers and flew east and beat Duke. We like everything about this team.
Duke + Florida + Virginia + Michigan State to reach Sweet Sixteen (+294 FD)
We’ve covered the Dukies. Florida will have to get past Clemson or Iowa to get to this stage, but both have serious flaws and Iowa seemed to peak around January. Florida’s pedigree speaks for itself.
Virginia reaching the Final Four wouldn’t be a major surprise. The Cavaliers have elite size, they are incredibly tough to penetrate in the paint and we love how they played Duke late. They are basically a top-25 offensive and defensive team and they aren’t reliant on the three-ball.
As for Sparty, yeah they weren’t at their very best late in the season, but they have plenty of talent and an iconic coach, and we think they might end up facing the No. 11 seed in the second round. Tom Izzo has led Michigan State to the Sweet Sixteen on 16 occasions. That’ll play.
South Region Preview: The Reigning Champs Are Hungry For More
Can the Gators repeat? Can Houston conquer its demons? Can Nebraska win its first-ever NCAA game?
Houston to Make the Final Four (+250 FD)
Last year felt like the Cougars’ best opportunity for a national championship, but they came up short against a Florida team riding the magic of Walter Clayton Jr. Houston could have a chance at revenge in the Elite Eight.
Defense has never been Houston’s issue in the NCAA Tournament, and that should continue, as the Cougars are No. 5 in KenPom defensive rating. At the other end, this is the best offense Kelvin Sampson has had since taking over the program, as Houston averages 77.1 points per game.
This team is built a little differently than the typical Sampson-led group, with two freshmen in the starting lineup. Kingston Flemings is the top offensive threat, averaging 16.4 points per game, and Chris Cenac Jr. leads the team in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game. Emanuel Sharp, Milos Uzan and Joseph Tugler have tournament experience and thrive in their roles. Expect these guys to be at their best in what could be Sampson’s final run.
St. John’s to Reach the Final Four (+1300 FD)
Rick Pitino has his team playing great basketball at the right time. After a 72-40 loss at UConn, the Red Storm have won six straight games, including a 20-point thrashing of the Huskies in the Big East Tournament title game.
Their path is tough, but most of the teams in the East Region have question marks: Duke will be without Caleb Foster, UConn has shown its warts in multiple matchups with St. John’s, Michigan State has questions on the offensive end and Kansas has had availability issues for a number of its players. This is certainly the toughest quadrant, with some of the more elite coaches in the Big Dance, but St. John’s has experience and Pitino will look to right last year’s wrongs.
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