March Madness is officially here, which, of course, means millions of Americans are making brackets. The Pitt News Sports Desk is no different, with several staff writers giving their input on how this bracket will turn out and who will take home the national championship.
Whether you’re looking for some last-minute advice on filling out your bracket or just curious about other perspectives, TPN has you covered.
When it comes to the Final Four and the National Champion, there is a decent amount of consensus. Out of 13 respondents, five picked the Duke Blue Devils to hoist the trophy this year. Eight respondents had them in the championship game and 10 had them in the Final Four. Nationwide, Duke is a strong favorite to win it all, and it seems that the sports desk thinks the same.
Some other popular champion picks are the Tennessee Volunteers, Michigan State Spartans, Houston Cougars and Florida Gators — all of whom each had two writers pick them to win it all.
The No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers were interestingly not picked at all. Only four writers had them in their Final Four, indicating surprising unpopularity for a one-seed among the writers.
The Final Four picks were also top-heavy, with only two writers picking a seed lower than four to reach the semifinals — No. 8 seed Gonzaga and the No. 5 seed Memphis Tigers.
Speaking of high seeds, this year’s “Cinderella” team was also pretty varied. The two most popular picks this year are the Drake Bulldogs and the Yale Bulldogs. Notice a theme there? Last year, Yale also was a No. 13 seed and upset a No. 4 out of the SEC. This year, the Bulldogs draw the Texas A&M Aggies for their first-round matchup.
Drake is another interesting team to watch. It blew through the Missouri Valley Conference and comes into the tournament with a ton of experience and depth — historically a good quality to look for in a Cinderella pick. Some other notable picks include the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns and the controversially bid North Carolina Tar Heels.
One of the most interesting discussions among March Madness veterans is the ever-interesting No. 12 seed versus No. 5 seed matchup. This year’s top selections were split between the UC San Diego versus Michigan and Liberty versus Oregon games. My personal pick this year was Drake versus Clemson.
There was also plenty of agreement on the West Virginia-North Carolina debate, with most writers agreeing that the Mountaineers should’ve gotten the nod over the Heels despite the enmity felt toward WVU as Pitt students. With that said, some felt the Indiana Hoosiers were the biggest snub this year.
At the end of the day, these predictions are just predictions, and it’s called March “Madness” for a reason. This bracket is shaping up to give us another amazing tournament — especially if you enjoy chaos.