68 Team March Madness bracket predictions
March Madness is always my favorite sporting event of the year. I watch college basketball from season’s beginning to end, and it is all I watch starting around the beginning of February.
Vermont
Vermont had one of their greatest men’s basketball seasons in school history. The Catamounts went 27-5 overall and went 16-0 in conference play. This gave them the number one seed in the American East tournament. If Vermont loses their conference tournament in a close game in the finals, I give them a slight chance to still make the dance, but I would not bet on seeing them there.
SMU, Cincinnati, Houston
Southern Methodist University and the University of Cincinnati are shoe-ins for March Madness. They should both get a 4-6 seed in the tournament. Houston will have a little harder time getting in going 21-9 in a non-power five conference going and 0-4 against UC and SMU.
I pick UC to be the American Conference champion because they beat Iowa State on the road, split the series with SMU, beat Houston twice, and beat Xavier. They were the overall better team this season when compared to SMU.
Dayton, VCU, Rhode Island
Dayton and VCU both finished with 24 wins. They split the season series against each other. Rhode Island will be one of the last teams in. They beat VCU, but they lost to Valparaiso and Providence. Rhode Island finished 21-9, and they will have to make a run in the conference tournament to make the dance.
Dayton will win the conference tournament because they have more wins over other teams that will make the dance. Dayton beat Alabama, New Mexico, and Winthrop. Those are three teams that definitely deserve to dance this year while VCU did not beat anyone great outside of their conference and lost to Rhode Island.
North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida State, Virginia, Miami, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Syracuse
The Atlantic Coast Conference will be the most well represented conference in March Madness. The ACC has three teams that could very reasonably win it all: UNC, Duke, and Louisville. Notre Dame, Florida State, Virginia, Miami (FL), Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest are all teams that could make a big splash in March. Wake Forest and Syracuse are the only teams on this list that I could see not getting in.
Coach K will lead his slightly banged up and battered Dukies to a conference tournament championship. The leadership of the winningest coach in NCAA division one men’s college basketball history with the talent of Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard make for a fearsome force.
Florida Gulf Coast
FGCU has already won this tournament, so there is no prediction to be made here. There was no one from the Atlantic Sun Conference, including FGCU, that could have made March Madness without winning the conference tournament. The Eagles will be the lone representatives from the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Kansas, Iowa State, Baylor, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
The Big 12 is one of the best conferences in college basketball this year. Kansas is playing as a championship team, and other Big 12 teams are gearing up for a big run. Kansas State is the only team from the Big 12 listed here that can arguably be left out of the dance.
My sleeper this year is the Oklahoma State Cowboys. I pick the Cowboys to be this year’s Cinderella team and make it to the second weekend. Lead by Jawun Evans, Phil Forte III, and Jeffrey Carrol, this team is prepared to surprise some people.
I pick Kansas to win this tournament. The Jayhawks are playing like a tremendous machine that will not be stopped.
Villanova, Butler, Creighton, Seton Hall, Xavier
The Big East with be well represented this year. The reigning champion Villanova Wildcats will look to carry the conference again after winning the Big East Conference tournament and securing a number 1 seed in March Madness. Butler and Creighton have played well throughout the season. Xavier has faced injury trouble, but they should be able to limp into the tourney. Seton Hall is a very borderline team that still deserves to be in.
Eastern Washington
The Eagles finished 13-5 in conference and 21-10 overall. I expect them to beat North Dakota in tournament conference finals and then lose in first round they play in March Madness. With no quality wins and a few bad losses, I do not hold out a lot of hope for the Eagles.
Winthrop
Winthrop has already won the Big South, so saying they’ll be in the tournament isn’t a prediction. The only two wins they had that could arguably be considered impressive were against UNC Ashville and Illinois. They do not look like a team set up to surprise anyone.
Purdue, Maryland, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan
Northwestern will make their first appearance to the big dance in school history. Wisconsin and Minnesota are both good teams who are built to make deep runs. Maryland is very under rated. They finished 24-7, and they did not have a lot of trouble against many teams. Michigan is one of my last four in.
Purdue will win the Big Ten Conference tournament and receive a top four seed in March Madness. The Boilermakers hope to do better this year after being eliminated in the first round last year.
UC Irvine
UC Irvine will win the Big West. Their only competition to their title will be UC Davis, but after handing Davis a 79-49 defeat, I wouldn’t be too worried. They don’t have any quality wins; however, and should be a first round out of the tournament.
UNC Wilmington
The Seahawks finished with an impressive 29 overall wins. They did not beat anyone worth writing home about, but winning 29 times in a single season is definitely something to take notice of. I would not be incredibly surprised if they got a good enough seed and got to play against a team they can beat.
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee will easily win their conference and make a splash in the dance. They upset Michigan State as a 15th seed last year, and they should get a better seed this year. They finished 17-1 in conference and 27-4 overall. They have quality wins over UNC Wilmington, Belmont, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt. I would not sleep on the Blue Raiders.
Northern Kentucky University
The top three seeds in the Horizon League tournament have already been eliminated, so the fourth seed Norse are the prime option to make it to the tourney. They faired quite well this season against Youngstown State, Ill. Chicago, and Milwaukee this season, so I expect them to make it to March Madness for the first time in school history.
Princeton
The Ivy league is doing an actual conference tournament this year, so that adds a little more excitement into who will be representing the league of smart people. I picked Princeton because they went 14-0 in conference play, and I think they can beat everyone in their conference again to make the dance.
Iona
Iona will be their second straight March Madness appearance after a second straight disappointing MAAC tournament by Monmouth. Monmouth has won the league and has been favored to win the tournament the past two years, and they have come up short both times.
Akron
Akron was the only MAC team is finish the season with above 20 wins overall. They also finished first overall in the conference. They will win the MAC tournament and be the lone representative from the MAC in March Madness.
North Carolina Central
North Carolina Central 22-8 overall and 13-3 in Conference. They had a good win against Missouri early in the season, and did not face too much trouble against any in conference teams. I expect the Eagles to win the MEAC tournament and be the only team from the MEAC.
Wichita State, Illinois State
Wichita State easily defeated Illinois State in the Missouri Valley conference tournament final after splitting the regular season series with them. This just make an even stronger case for the shockers to be a top 5 seed. Illinois State; however, should not be counted out just because of one loss. That loss was in the most important game of the season, but it is still just one loss. That loss definitely made it harder for Illinois State to start dancing, but I would not tell them to return their dancing shoes yet.
Nevada
The Wolf Pack finished 25-6 overall and 14-4 in conference play. They had a quality win over New Mexico. The only team I can see giving Nevada any trouble in the conference tournament in Colorado State, but I expect to see the Wolf Pack dancing.
LIU Brooklyn
LIU went 20-12 overall and 13-5 in conference play with only semi-impressive win over St. John’s. I do not expect them to surprise anyone in March Madness unless someone is expecting them to win.
Jacksonville State
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks already won their conference tournament and will be representing the Ohio Valley Conference in this year’s tournament. They do not have anything that impresses me, so I do not expect them to go very far.
Oregon, Arizona, UCLA, USC
Oregon, Arizona, and UCLA are three of the best teams in college basketball. USC will also make the dance with a 23-8 overall record. Oregon has Dillon Brooks. UCLA has Lonzo Ball. Arizona has a very well rounded team.
I pick Arizona to win the Pac-12 tournament because of how well rounded they are. A team cannot just shut down one Wildcat and expect the team to fold in on itself. They will just have another player take his place.
Bucknell
Bucknell went 25-8 overall and 15-3 in the Patriot league. They had one decent win over Vanderbilt, but they did not do anything to really impress me. I expect them to be a first round out.
Kentucky, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama
Kentucky will win the SEC tournament again to no one’s surprise. Florida has been flying under the radar, and they have flown all the way to a 23-6 overall record. South Carolina has used their great defense to get them a 22-9 record. Alabama and Arkansas round out the pack of SEC that will make the dance this year.
Eastern Tennessee State
With a nail-biting victory over UNC Greensboro, Eastern Tennessee State will be dancing. The Bucs finished 26-7 overall and 14-4 in conference. They did not have any impressive wins, or even any good ones, but they did still finish with 26 wins, and that should not be taken lightly.
Sam Houston State
The Sam Houston State Bearkats got blown out by every good non-conference team they played, but they will still win their conference championship because they finished 19-12 overall. No one in the Southland Conference finished with above 19 wins. These Bearkats will lose in the first game they play in the dance.
Texas Southern
The tigers finished 20-11 overall and 16-2 in conference play. The 11 loses the Tigers have is a deceiving number. They went out and tried to play the hardest competition they could find. They played their first 16 games on the road, and four of those games were against ranked opponents. Now I’m not saying they will beat anyone in the dance this year, I just think they may have learned a thing or two by now and could surprise us all.
Fort Wayne
The Mastodons went an unimpressive 19-12 overall and an even less impressive 8-8- in conference play, but they had one absolutely great win. They beat the (at the time) number three ranked Indiana Hoosiers. They’ve proven how good they can play, and they did not let any Summit League opponents dominant them throughout the season. They have already proven that they can beat the number three team once, who is to say they cannot do it again this month?
UT Arlington
The Mavericks went 24-7 overall and 14-4 in conference play. They had one decent win against Texas, and they also had one statement win when they went to Moraga and played against Saint Mary’s. This win against Saint Mary’s along with going 14-4 in conference play are the reasons the Mavericks will win the Sun Belt tournament. I also wouldn’t think too lightly of them after they went on the road and beat the Gaels.
Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s
Gonzaga suffered their only loss this year to a team that, with a good conference tournament run, could make the big dance in BYU. The Zags will win the tournament finals against the Saint Mary’s Gaels and both teams will go onto the big tournament.
New Mexico State
The Aggies went 25-5 overall and 11-3 in conference play. The had a decent win over New Mexico, and 25 wins is nothing to be ashamed of. I would not expect them to go anywhere in the big dance, but they are not the most unlikely to win a game.
These are my teams. There were many teams I had trouble cutting down to at the end, and there will be a lot that changes between when this is published and the seeds are made final. I love March Madness, and I wish the best to you and all of your brackets this year! Good Luck!
Co-Editor of The Purple Quill. I once met sometimes starting quarterback Daniel Nieman. "I was gonna kick your a**."- Daniel "Hardball" Nieman.
Zach Fries • Mar 8, 2017 at 11:47 am
Keehan,
What is this nonsense? Houston, URI and Alabama??? How about Michigan State, Marquette, and Providence?
Subpar effort
adviser • Mar 13, 2017 at 1:19 pm
Never doubt THE FRIESY