March Madness 2024: Top Bracketology Predictions for Men's Tourney from Experts
We're in the Madness, folks.
Spots in the upcoming men's NCAA Tournament are filling up fast as the college basketball world rolls deeper into championship week. Some tickets have already been punched, but as the Big Dance grows more crowded, those on the bubble are at an increased risk of missing out on the festivities.
To help get the best possible gauge at the playing field, we'll dive into the expert bracketology predictions from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, B/R's Kerry Miller and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm.
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The Top Seeds
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Often times, it can be pretty to find consensus opinions at this point of the calendar. For now, though, that's exactly what we find on the No. 1 seed line.
Most (maybe all) observers would agree with these experts that Purdue, Houston and UConn have secured their No. 1 seeds. You will hear typically hear debates with that fourth No. 1 seed, however that's not the case here.
Lunardi, Miller and Palm are all in agreement that—as of this very moment—Tennessee is holding that spot. That is, of course, always subject to change, but it must be reassuring for the Volunteers and their fans that three different experts agree this club is in pole position to snag the final top seed up for grabs.
Miller mentioned that North Carolina and Arizona are likely still in contention for this spot, so perhaps their fates in their respective conference tournaments will settle the score. Before that happens, though, Tennessee is in a good spot.
The Last Four In
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Bubble teams aren't allowed to breathe easily at this time of year. There are a few, though, who may not be sweating quite as much as the rest.
Colorado, for instance, is a tournament team for all three of these experts, albeit one of the "Last Four In" variety. The Buffalos, in other words, could probably use another boost at the Pac-12 Tournament to really like their chances on Selection Sunday.
No other school shows up on each of these experts' last four to make the field. Three were selected by two of the three experts, though, in Indiana State, St. John's and Virginia.
Finally, three teams carried this distinction for a single expert in Michigan State, Seton Hall and New Mexico. But while the Spartans and Pirates were more solid tournament teams for the other experts, the Lobos only made the cut for Palm and were left out of the dance by Miller and Lunardi.
The First Four Out
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No team is a "First Four Out" selection for all three experts. Draw whatever conclusions you want from that.
Four schools were given that distinction by two of the three experts, though: Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Villanova, Texas A&M. Of those four, only Texas A&M was picked as a tournament team by the other expert (Miller had the Aggies as a 10th seed).
That leaves four more teams with single selections for this category: St. John's, New Mexico, Iowa and Utah. The Johnnies have the best hopes (for now) of that group as they were tournament teams for Lunardi and Palm while being Miller's first team out. Miller also called the Red Storm "2024's prototypical 'win one more and you're probably in' team."
Opinions were split on the Lobos, who made the cut for Palm but didn't even crack Miller's first four out. The Utes and Hawkeyes, finally, were part of Palm's first four out but landed lower down the list for Miller and Lunardi, the latter of whom didn't even include Utah among his "Next Four Out."
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