2012 NCAA Expert Picks: Who Are Consensus Final Four Teams?

Every year, the experts are pretty close to being right in predicting the tournament. After all, they are experts for a reason.

There are always teams that sneak into a Final Four that no one saw coming. VCU and Butler the last couple of years are prime examples.

Not many of the experts actually picked these two to get that far in the big dance.

Now, keep in mind these are just the expert picks and who they most commonly think will make it the furthest in the tournament.

If the tournament went on how the experts predict, these will be the Final Four teams.

Kentucky Wildcats

This team has been a no-brainer for experts all season long. Kentucky has been No. 1 for most of the season as they only lost one game going into the conference tournament, and that was on December 10th.

The experts now think that the loss in the SEC Tournament’s championship game to Vanderbilt will actually help the Wildcats.

Many of the experts think this brought Kentucky back to reality, and will show them ways of not to play that won’t win ballgames.

All the experts think Kentucky is one of the Final Four teams.

North Carolina Tar Heels

North Carolina has been on the radar all year as a potential national champion, and now that they are a No. 1 seed many have them penciled in the Final Four.

The Tar Heels have really only struggled against one team this year and that’s Florida State, but luckily for North Carolina, they wouldn’t have to play them until the national semifinal.

Up until that Florida State matchup in the ACC championship game, North Carolina was one of the hottest teams in the country.

They will get John Henson back at some point, and many think Carolina can win the national championship this year.

Syracuse Orange

Syracuse is the third No. 1 seed that the experts think will make the Final Four. The Orange only lost one game in the regular season at Notre Dame, and the only other loss was in the Big East semifinals.

Syracuse is a matchup problem for teams due to their size and depth on the bench. They also have that typical zone that’s hard to play against as well.

Many experts have Syracuse advancing to the Final Four for those reasons.

I’m skeptical about that because a team could get hot shooting against that zone as they have the last few years, but experts aren't too worried about that and think Syracuse is Final Four bound.

Michigan State Spartans

This sounds cliché to have all four No. 1 seeds in the tournament’s Final Four, but most of the experts think this will happen.

They think this year the four No. 1 seeds are the only constant, as most of the other teams are too inconsistent.

This has only happened one other time in NCAA tournament history, and that was in 2008.

The experts like Michigan State due to their coach Tom Izzo and big-time player Draymond Green.

The Spartans have a pretty favorable road to the Elite Eight, and with a win in that game they’re Final Four bound.

Michigan State is scrappy and plays extremely well. Experts like Green leading Michigan State to New Orleans at the end of the month.