March Madness 2018: NCAA Men's Tournament Favorites and Predictions

The chaos of the NCAA men's basketball tournament is ready to captivate the nation starting Tuesday and Wednesday with the First Four.

Given the unpredictable nature of the men's basketball season, the 2018 edition of the Big Dance has a chance to feature upsets in each part of the bracket.

Although lower seeds could steal the spotlight in the first and second weekends of March Madness, high seeds traditionally rise to the top in the Final Four.

Outside of UConn in 2014, the national champions this decade have been a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed, with North Carolina winning as a No. 1 seed a year ago.

NCAA Tournament Favorites (via OddsShark)

Villanova (+600; Bet $100 to win $600) 

Virginia (+600)

Duke (+600)

Michigan State (+700)

Purdue (+1200)

Michigan (+1200)

Kansas (+1600)

Arizona (+2000)

Xavier (+2000)

North Carolina (+2000)

Florida (+2000)

Cincinnati (+2000)

Tennessee (+2000)

Predictions

Arizona Dominates the Opening Weekend to Start Final Four Run

Arizona was always going to be a sexy pick to advance far in the Big Dance with star freshman Deandre Ayton on the floor, but the Wildcats possess more than just the projected No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

Ayton, who averages 19.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, is joined by Allonzo Trier, Rawle Alkins and Dusan Ristic as players who can cause issues to opposing defenses.

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

When opponents commit defenders to Ayton, Ristic takes over, as he averages 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

Joining Trier and Alkins in the backcourt is Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who enters the Big Dance as one of the most experienced players in men's basketball.

The Wildcats reeled off four straight wins to get to the Pac-12 tournament final, and they've won seven of their last eight games.

Lingering over the Wildcats is the pressure of finally making the Final Four after three trips to the Elite 8 in Sean Miller's tenure.

With Ayton dominating in the paint and a well-rounded supporting cast, this will be the year the Wildcats get over the hump.

A Single No. 1 Seed Makes the Final Four

Just because the best teams in the nation earn a No. 1 seed doesn't mean they're immune to upsets in the NCAA tournament.

Three of the eight No. 1 seeds in the last two NCAA tournaments advanced to the Final Four, while 10 top seeds qualified for the Final Four since the start of the decade.

The lone exception to that trend was 2015, when Duke, Wisconsin and Kentucky all made the Final Four as top seeds.

With so many unexpected results occurring throughout men's basketball this season, it's likely that most fans pick against the No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets with a wide range of upsets expected to happen.

Of the potential top seeds, Virginia displayed the least amount of flaws, while Villanova, Xavier, Kansas and North Carolina all suffered from rough patches at points in the regular season.

Al Bello/Getty Images

Of course the trend could be thrown to the wayside, as each of the programs in contention for top seeds have the firepower in their respective lineups to dominate the first two weekends of the Big Dance and move on to San Antonio.

Virginia possesses a strong defensive unit, Villanova can shoot anyone out of the gym, Xavier contains a wealth of tournament experience, while Kansas and North Carolina rely on senior leadership that's been tested on countless occasions in March.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.