NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions – Sleepers, Locks, First Weekend Picks

First and Second Round Picks

Locks

The following teams are @fantasybeast15‘s locks to win their first game.

(1) Virginia over UMBC
(1) Villanova over LIU Brooklyn/Radford
(1) Kansas over Penn
(1) Xavier over NC Central/Texas Southern
(2) Purdue over CSU Fullerton
(2) Duke over Iona
(2) North Carolina over Lipscomb
(3) Michigan State over Bucknell
(3) Michigan over Montana
(4) Arizona over Buffalo
(4) Wichita State over Marshall
(4) Gonzaga over UNCG

Near Locks

The following teams are @fantasybeast15‘s near locks to win their first game. These teams will likely win, but there is at least some uncertainty.

(2) Cincinnati over Georgia State
(3) Tennessee over Wright State
(3) Texas Tech over S.F. Austin
(4) Auburn over Charleston
(5) West Virginia over Murray State

Likely Winners

The following teams are @fantasybeast15‘s picks to win, but these games should remain closer than the choices above. There is a higher chance of an upset in these games.

(11) UCLA over St. Bonaventure (First Round)
(16) Radford over LIU Brooklyn (First Round)
(16) Texas Southern over NC Central (First Round)

(5) Kentucky over Davidson
(5) Clemson over New Mexico State
(5) Ohio State over South Dakota State

50/50 Picks

The following teams are @fantasybeast15‘s picks to win, but these matchups should stay close throughout the game. There are some upset picks here, and all of these games feature a spread of fewer than five points.

(11) Syracuse over Arizona State (First Round)

(6) Miami over Loyola-Chicago
(6) Florida over UCLA/St. Bonaventure
(6) Houston over San Diego State
(7) Arkansas over Butler
(7) Texas A&M over Providence
(8) Creighton over Kansas State
(8) Virginia Tech over Alabama
(9) NC State over Seton Hall
(9) Florida State over Missouri
(10) Texas over Nevada
(10) Oklahoma over Rhode Island
(11) Syracuse over TCU

Click NEXT for Sleepers, Sweet 16 Picks, and Final Four Picks

Sweet 16 and Final Four Picks

Sweet 16 Picks

The following teams are @fantasybeast15‘s picks to make it to the Sweet 16.

South
(1) Virginia
(2) Cincinnati
(3) Tennessee
(4) Arizona

East
(1) Villanova
(2) Purdue
(5) West Virginia
(6) Florida

Midwest
(1) Kansas
(2) Duke
(3) Michigan State
(5) Clemson

West
(1) Xavier
(2) North Carolina
(3) Michigan
(4) Gonzaga

Final Four Picks

The following teams are @fantasybeast15‘s picks to make it to the Final Four.

(1) Virginia
(1) Villanova
(2) Duke
(2) North Carolina

Click NEXT for NCAA Tournament Sleepers

Sleepers

The following teams are potential sleepers in the NCAA Tournament. These are not picks, but are teams who could defy the odds and make a tournament run.

(4) Arizona – The Wildcats were underseeded in this tournament and could make a deep push into the tournament if they can make it past Virginia in the Sweet 16.
(6) Florida – The Gators have a strong group of guards and were ranked in the top ten in the country earlier this season.
(11) – Loyola Chicago – The Ramblers are a quality team that hasn’t lost since January. They’ll face Miami in their first game, but could make some waves with a minor upset.
(11) – Syracuse – While they may not even belong in the tournament, Jim Boeheim’s experience could lead to a nice run by the Orange.

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