NCAA Basketball Bracket 2019: Mobile-Friendly Primer for March Madness

The 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament bracket has arrived in all its glory.

The selection committee announced its field of 68 teams Sunday, with the Duke Blue Devils, Virginia Cavaliers, North Carolina Tar Heels and Gonzaga Bulldogs checking in as the four No. 1 seeds. That doesn't mean they will cruise to the Final Four, though, as fans have to look no further back than last year to see why it's called March Madness.

Loyola-Chicago advanced to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed from the Missouri Valley Conference, and the American East's UMBC became the first No. 16 seed in history to defeat a No. 1 when it stunned Virginia.

There will surely be more Cinderellas, buzzer beaters and memorable moments before the champion cuts down the nets this year. With that in mind, here is a look at some storylines to follow when filling it out.

Ironclad Rule to Follow: Don't Pick a No. 16 Seed

Historically, UMBC's win over Virginia qualified as one of the biggest surprises in sports history. After all, a No. 16 seed had never defeated a No. 1 seed, and the Retrievers did so against a powerhouse from the ACC.

Not only that, they destroyed the Cavaliers by 20 points and left no doubt who the better team was that night.

Watch the highlights, relish the memories and even tease any of your friends who root for Virginia, but don't get caught thinking history is going to repeat itself. There's a reason the No. 1 seeds never lost an opening game in the tournament's long history prior to last year, and it's a safe bet things will return to normal during this season's Big Dance.

Yes, this year's top seeds are vastly more skilled than their first-round opponents, but this suggestion is about more than the talent gap between the underdogs and the national title contenders. Those top seeds are going to be particularly motivated to avoid an upset after Virginia's stunning defeat.

Their coaches no longer have to worry about the players overlooking an easier opponent with an eye on the later rounds, and they can point to the Cavaliers as an example of what can happen in that scenario.

Don't miss the chance to pick up an easy four wins in your bracket pool by thinking lightning strikes twice.

Cinderella Story to Get Behind: Ja Morant and Murray State

When casual fans think of NBA prospects using the NCAA tournament as a final showcase on the collegiate level, they surely picture players on Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky and other blue bloods.

While there are players who fit that bill on those teams—Zion Williamson, anyone?—the second- or third-best NBA prospect in the entire tournament may play for the Murray State Racers of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Ja Morant is an explosive guard who is a blur in transition, can shoot from three-point range and unleash some of the most powerful dunks in the country. He averaged 24.6 points, 10.0 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game behind 50.3 percent shooting from the field and 33.6 percent shooting from deep as a playmaker who can take over games.

He proved his mettle in the clutch with 36 points in the Ohio Valley Conference championship win over the Belmont Bruins, scoring 22 after halftime when the title and a spot in the NCAA tournament were hanging in the balance.

That is welcome news for college basketball fans who now get to see him test his talent against some of the best teams in the nation.

Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman projected Morant as the No. 3 pick in his latest mock draft, but a deep NCAA tournament run could propel him into the top two.

Team to Beat: Duke Blue Devils

The college basketball season started with a "Duke against the field" feel, and it will end the same way.

While the Blue Devils struggled at times when Williamson was sidelined by a knee injury, nobody in the country can match them from a talent perspective. Williamson (No. 1), RJ Barrett (No. 2) and Cam Reddish (No. 5) were all in the top five in Wasserman's mock draft and have the potential to take over games even if there are depth questions around them.

Think LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat or Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson on the Golden State Warriors. Sometimes a trio is so talented that the other team doesn't have a realistic chance.

Duke's issues without Williamson were also somewhat misleading even though it lost to North Carolina twice and Virginia Tech once to go with a narrow one-point win over Wake Forest.

After all, Reddish sat out much of the Wake Forest game with foul trouble, and the defense was left vulnerable without Williamson there to consistently swat shots and account for his teammates' mistakes. That allowed players such as Luke Maye, Cameron Johnson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. to exploit openings in the paint that won't be there with No. 1 on the floor.

Williamson also answered any lingering questions by leading his team to a championship in the ACC tournament when he returned.

The presence of all three on the floor on the offensive side means opponents won't be able to consistently double, lest they leave a future NBA lottery pick open. That presents a problem because Williamson and Barrett are nearly impossible to stop in one-on-one scenarios.

Duke has the most talent in the country and an all-time great coach in Mike Krzyzewski leading the way. The Blue Devils will be the ones cutting down the nets at the end of the tournament.