March Madness 2024: Predicting Favorites, Sleepers and Latest Men's Bubble Teams

The men's college basketball world will be glued to the television set Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET as CBS reveals the teams who will compete in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament with a chance to hoist the national championship.

Defending champion UConn has a chance to go back-to-back but a bevy of talented teams from some of the most storied basketball schools will look to halt their path to history and achieve the same euphoria that they did after last season.

Who joins the Huskies as the favorites in the tournament, which teams may surprise the world as sleeper contenders, and which are the bubble teams just hoping to get an invite to the dance?

Find out with this preview of the bracket.

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Favorites

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 16: Cam Spencer #12 of the Connecticut Huskies reacts after cutting a piece of the net to celebrate his team's against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the Big East Basketball Tournament Final at Madison Square Garden on March 16, 2024 in New York City. The Huskies won 73-57. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

UConn, Houston, Purdue, and Arizona are four teams that could roll into this year's tournament and win the entire thing.

The 28-3 Huskies have won nine of their last 10 regular season games and are rolling ahead of the tournament. Their Big East Championship victory was the team's first in a quarter of a century and in a sport where momentum is of the utmost importance, one would be hard-pressed to find a team more suited right now to take the national title than head coach Dan Hurley's team.

Their toughest opposition is the Houston Cougars, who have been as consistent as any team in the last three seasons. With just 14 losses, they have been national title contenders each year, thanks in large part to the coaching of Kelvin Samson, who almost always has one of the toughest and grittiest teams in the country.

The Purdue Boilermakers are one of the best teams in the country. A loss to the Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals of the Big Ten Conference tournament, though, means the previously dominant squad will have to rely on an at-large bid to make the dance.

Still, once they are in, they will have a legitimate chance to run the table and win the title.

Rounding out the field of legitimate favorites are the Arizona Wildcats, who may have lost to the Oregon Ducks in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament but like Purdue, should still be considered a favorite.

The aforementioned UConn, the defending national champs, did not win their conference tournament a year ago, proving it is not necessary en route to a title.

Sleepers

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 12: Anton Watson #22 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts after dunking the ball against the Saint Mary's Gaels in the first half of the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

Illinois and Gonzaga make up two of the more intriguing sleepers in this year's tournament.

The Fighting Illini is 25-8 poised to make a deep run in this year's tournament. The team is selfless, with stars in Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask who will put the ball in the net but also do not shy away from dishing to teammates and setting them up to score.

The high-powered offense may be the team's greatest asset but it is countered by a potentially worrisome defense that could prove costly if they match up against an equally prolific scoring team.

The team gives up 73.4 points a game, ranking them 225th in the nation in scoring defense. That will be problematic for them in the tournament unless head coach Brad Underwood can make the necessary adjustments.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are a team that emerges from the pack seemingly every year in the tournament to be one of the dark horse contenders for the title.

The team has competed in the Sweet 16 in six of the last eight years and, despite not being the annual tournament juggernaut that they have been in years past, should still be considered a candidate to shock the country and potentially hoist the national title trophy in victory.

A lightning-quick offense averaging 84.9 points per game, good for seventh in the nation, does not hurt matters.

Men's Bubble Teams

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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: The Virginia Cavaliers bench looks on at the end of overtime against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in the Semifinals of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 15, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

There are upwards of 17 teams potentially vying for just six available spots, per John Gasaway of ESPN.com.

The Virginia Cavaliers, Pittsburgh Panthers, and Wake Forest Demon Deacons will all play the waiting game ahead of Sunday's selection show, with most former being the likeliest of the three to get the tournament nod.

Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Cincinnati are potential teams out of the Big 12 to make the dance, with the Sooners looking like the team with the greatest possibility to find themselves competing for a national title, even if their prospects are significantly diminished from pre-season expectations.

The St. Johns Red Storm, Seton Hall Pirates, Northwestern Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Colorado Buffaloes are all teams with tournament hopes but the realistic chance that they may have to settle for an appearance in the NIT.