Gonzaga fought its way to a 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament bracket, and now it will try to avoid going one and done for the first time in 16 years. The No. 5 seed Bulldogs were dealt an opening-round matchup against No. 12-seed McNeese State, which went 11-23 last season. Despite its recent March Madness success, the Bulldogs are only slight favorites to advance in the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket. McNeese State has a 30-3 record and is making its first March Madness appearance in 22 years. It could be one of the 2024 March Madness bracket-busters to consider.
Top overall seed UConn, which is trying to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Florida (2006-07), is also in the Midwest Region. The Huskies are among the most popular options to win the national title in NCAA Tournament bracket picks, but should you have them cutting down the nets? Before making any 2024 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 92 percent of all CBS Sports brackets three of the past five tournaments. In an upset-laden 2023 NCAA Tournament, the model was all over UConn’s shocking Final Four run as a 4-seed. It went an amazing 23-9 in the first round, including an astounding 12-4 in the Midwest and West regions.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016.
There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2024 March Madness pools. Now, with the 2024 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
2024 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the 2024 March Madness matchups to keep an eye on: No. 4 seed Duke vs. No. 13 seed Vermont in the South Region. Vermont was picked to finish first in the America East preseason poll, and that prediction came true when the Catamounts went 28-6 overall and 15-1 in conference play. While they have won 10 games this season when trailing at halftime, they will try to get off to a fast start against Duke on Friday. The Blue Devils ranked second behind Kansas in the preseason AP poll and are led by All-ACC First Team performer Kyle Filipowski.
Also in the South Region, Wisconsin vs. James Madison figures to be yet another pivotal 5 vs. 12 matchup. James Madison is capable of making a sleeper run over the next two weeks, bringing a 13-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament 2024. The Dukes rank 10th in Division I in scoring (84.4 points per game), led by Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Terrence Edwards Jr. Wisconsin has a star of its own in AJ Storr, who has scored in double figures 30 consecutive times to post the fifth-longest such streak by a Badgers player since 1996-97.
The third matchup to watch in the South Region features No. 3 seed Kentucky vs. No. 14 seed Oakland. Kentucky has struggled to make deep NCAA Tournament runs in recent years, but head coach John Calipari still has the highest winning percentage (.731) in the Big Dance among active head coaches (minimum 10 games). He has a talented roster that features SEC Freshman of the Year Reed Sheppard and SEC Sixth Man of the Year Rob Dillingham, who leads Division I reserves with 464 points off the bench. Oakland will rely on Horizon League Player of the Year Trey Townsend, who scored a career-high 38 points in the Horizon League Tournament title game against Milwaukee. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 NCAA bracket predictions
How far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella teams will make surprising runs through the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2024? And which March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 20 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 92 percent of players three of the last five tournaments.
