March Madness: 64 (Plus-4) Predictions Ahead of Selection Sunday

Today’s the day we find out the field of 68 for the Big Dance which means March Madness is officially here!

Later this evening the selection committee will reveal who’s in and who’s out. Minutes later, millions of people will rapidly fill out their brackets in hopes of winning their office pool’s grand prize. 

While we await this glorious moment, here are 64 (Plus-4) predictions made by our College GameTime team. 

In case you’re reading this after the fact, these predictions were made on Selection Sunday at precisely 2:07 p.m. CT.  

Trey’s Predictions:

1. Pac-12 wins the national championship (either Arizona, UCLA or USC)
2. Providence first big East team eliminated 
3. Villanova makes it to the Elite-8 
4. Collin Gillespie leads a 15+ point comeback for the Wildcats at some point in the tournament  
5. We get a rematch of the 1997 national championship, Arizona v. Kentucky, at some point in the tourney
6. Duke eliminated the first weekend
7. Memphis advances to the Sweet-16
8. Houston loses in the Round of 32
9. “First Four” team advances to the 2nd weekend (last year UCLA advanced to the Final Four as a First Four team)
10. Baylor does not go back-to-back…sorry Bears
11. Texas Tech is the last Big 12 team standing 
12. Kansas loses to a team they’ve already played this year (Kentucky, Michigan State or maybe a fellow Big-12 team)
13. We get a matchup between Texas and Texas A&M
14. The ACC does not make the Final Four for the 2nd season in a row
15. Two teams from the same conference make the Final Four  
16. At least one mid-major (not named Gonzaga) in the Elite-8
17. One 13-seed gets first-round upset 
18. One 12-seed gets first-round upset 
19. Three 11-seeds get first-round upset 
20. Two 10-seeds get first-round upset 
21. 3-seeds will sweep the first round 
22. One 8/9-seed winner makes the Elite-8 
23. Purdue is the last BigTen team standing 
24. Tennessee makes the Elite-8
25. The tournament’s leading scorer will come from the west coast (Drew Timme, Bennedict Mathurin, etc.)
26. Two west coast teams make the Final Four (Arizona, Gonzaga, UCLA…c’mon now!)
27. The SEC will account for the most wins in the tournament 
28. Two coaches will matchup who used to work on the same staff 
29. On the 2nd weekend, a coach will matchup against a former assistant 
30. Baylor will be the first #1 seed to lose 
31. Ohio State gets bounced in the first round for the second consecutive year 
32. The state of Texas has the most teams represented in the tourney 

Brandon’s Predictions:

33. Big East will have a team in the Final Four
34. Coach K rides into the sunset early! Duke loses early in the tournament
35. Michigan sneaks in by the skin of their teeth.
36. Gonzaga doesn’t make it past the Sweet-16 
37. Texas Tech makes it to the Final Four
38. Loyola Chicago is looking to crash the ball again and plays spoiler the first weekend of the tourney 
39. Iowa & Keegan Murray have everything it takes to be a sleeper pick
40. South Dakota State pulls off the first-round upset 
41. Delaware, led by Jameer Nelson Jr., will be my mid-major to watch 
42. Purdue’s Jaden Ivey is Ja Morant 2.0
43. UCLA will make consecutive Final Fours but will fall short again
44. No SEC teams will make the Final Four
45. Virginia Tech will be the last ACC team standing
46. Indiana will get a chance at the dance
47. Davidson will pull off an upset and has sweet sixteen potential 
48. Kansas will be the first #1 seed eliminated.
49. There will not be a first time NCAA champion
50. Johnny Juzang will be the tournament’s leading scorer
51. Memphis will make the tournament for the first time under Penny Hardaway
52. Ohio State will once again fail to make the Sweet-16
53. Michigan will go further in the tournament than Michigan State
54. A currently unranked team in the AP poll will make the Sweet-16
55. Shaka Smart and Marquette will go to the Elite-8
56. Second-year in a row North Texas will win its first-round matchup
57. Three buzzer beaters will happen in round one of the tournament
58. Big Ten team wins the national championship.
59. One 12-seed will make the sweet sixteen
60. One 6-seed will make the 8
61. A 16-seed pulls off an upset in the first round.
62. Yale will have 20-wins by the time they lose in the tournament 
63. Auburn won’t get a number one seed
64. There will be a perfect bracket until the Elite-8

Last Four In: 

65. 70% of brackets busted after the day one

66. A post will go viral of someone posting a ridiculous winning bet slip

67. Trey’s bracket will score higher than Brandon’s bracket 

68. There will be a worker shortage on Thursday, March 17th