With five national titles over the last 25 years, UConn has cemented itself as a blue blood college basketball program. However, many still see it as a notch below the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and North Carolina. Perhaps, that’s because the Huskies haven’t had the staying power of being a contender year after year, a notion Dan Hurley is trying to eliminate in the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket. UConn has never advanced past the second round of March Madness the year after their first four national titles.
In the first round of 2024 March Madness bracket, the Huskies will face No. 16 Stetson, before a potential second-round matchup with the victor of FAU vs. Northwestern. This is the first time in program history that Connecticut is the overall No. 1 seed, and it is hoping the NCAA Tournament 2024 is also the first time it sees the Sweet Sixteen as a defending champ. Before you make your 2024 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has nailed 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016 and nailed UConn’s dramatic Final Four run as a 4-seed last year. It went an amazing 22-10 in the first round, including an astounding 12-4 in the Midwest and West regions.
Last year, SportsLine’s computer simulation nailed massive upsets, including huge wins by No. 13 Furman over No. 4 Virginia and No. 10 Penn State over No. 7 Texas A&M. The model has beaten over 92% of all CBS Sports bracket players in three of the past five tournaments.
Now, SportsLine’s advanced computer model has simulated the entire 2024 NCAA Tournament 10,000 times to come up with the perfect 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket and find out which teams will pull off the biggest upsets. You shouldn’t even think about making a pick without seeing what their model has to say.
Top 2024 March Madness bracket upset picks
One Midwest Region surprise the model has identified: No. 11 seed Oregon knocks off No. 6 South Carolina in the first round. When the Ducks make the NCAA Tournament, they usually stick around for a while since they’ve made it to at least the Sweet 16 in their last four appearances. They are 6-0 in the first round since 2013, winning those contests by an average margin of 18.5 points. This season, Oregon also showed it can win close games, as no team has more single-digit victories than Oregon’s 14.
Oregon enters on a four-game win streak after claiming the Pac-12 Tournament and is averaging 75.3 points for the season. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks are just 3-5 when allowing at least 70 points and few teams are as passive defensively as South Carolina. It ranks 340th out of 362 Division I teams in turnovers forced per game, and Carolina also has a negative scoring margin in five neutral-site games this season.
Another Midwest Region surprise the model has identified: No. 9 TCU defeats No. 8 Utah State. It’s simply hard to ignore the dismal NCAA Tournament history of Utah State, which has lost 10 straight March Madness games. There are 106 programs that have played at least 20 NCAA Tournament games, and Utah State owns the worst record of those teams at 6-25 (.193 W-L%). Additionally, 8-seeds are just 7-13 versus 9-seeds over the last five tournaments.
Each of TCU’s top eight scorers are upperclassmen, and many of them were around for the team’s last two NCAA Tournament runs. TCU was also a 9-seed in 2022 and destroyed 8-seed Seton Hall by 27 points. The Horned Frogs also won their first-round matchup last year, so they have twice as many tourney wins over the last two years than Utah State has over the last five decades. See which other 2024 March Madness matchups to target here.
How to make 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions
Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it’s calling this year before locking in any 2024 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2024 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine to see which 12-seed reaches the Sweet 16, and which region features a 10-seed, 11-seed, and 13-seed delivering first-round shockers and has a 9-seed in the Elite Eight, all from the model that has beaten 92% of bracket players three of the last five tournaments.
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