The Virginia Cavaliers have spent just under two years as the defending national champions. They open the 2021 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed and will play 13th-seeded Ohio in the first round of the West Regional on Saturday night. The Cavaliers and Bobcats will be one of the last of 32 first-round games to tip off as the 2021 NCAA bracket gets cut from 68 teams to 32. Should you back Virginia with your 2021 March Madness picks?
No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga enters the 2021 March Madness bracket with an unblemished 26-0 record and faces the Norfolk State vs. Appalachian State winner in the first round of the West Regional. Can the Zags go wire-to-wire without a loss? And what upsets loom in your NCAA Tournament 2021 bracket games? Before making any 2021 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It absolutely crushed its March Madness picks last tournament, beating nearly 90 percent of all CBS Sports brackets one year after finishing in the top five percent. The model also nailed 14 teams in the Sweet 16 last time.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 15 of the 26 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds the last four tournaments. It also nailed massive upsets last time, including huge wins by No. 13 seed UC-Irvine over No. 4 seed Kansas State, No. 10 seed Florida over No. 7 seed Nevada, and No. 12 seed Oregon over No. 5 seed Wisconsin.
There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2021 March Madness pools. Now, with the 2021 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Three 2021 March Madness bracket games to watch
One 2021 March Madness matchup to keep an eye on: No. 6 Texas Tech faces No. 11 Utah State in the South Region. The Red Raiders went 17-10 this season, losing to third-ranked Baylor 88-73 to end the regular season and then falling to 13th-ranked Texas in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal. Mac McClung leads Texas Tech with 15.7 points per game. Utah State (20-8) won the Mountain West regular season title, but fell to San Diego State in the MWC Tournament title game. Neemias Queta leads the way for the Aggies with 15.1 points per outing.
Also in the South Regional, third-seeded Arkansas takes on No. 14 Colgate. The Razorbacks enter the NCAA Tournament 2021 with a 22-6 record after falling to LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Arkansas scores 82.4 points per game, which is 12th in the country, with Moses Moody contributing 17.4 of them per outing. Colgate won 13 straight to finish its march to the Patriot League Tournament title, defeating Loyola (Md.) 85-72 to clinch the automatic bid. The Raiders’ offense is even more prolific, ranking third in the nation at 86.3 points per game.
The third matchup to watch is also in the South Regional, as No. 2 Ohio State takes on No. 15 Oral Roberts. The Buckeyes went 21-9, but fell to Illinois in overtime of the Big 10 Tournament title game. Duane Washington Jr. leads Ohio State with 16.3 points per game. Oral Roberts went just 16-10, but rolled to the Summit League Tournament title by downing North Dakota State, 75-72. Max Abmas leads the Golden Eagles with 24.2 points and 3.7 assists per game. You can see the model’s picks for these games and every other here.
How to make 2021 NCAA bracket predictions
Who wins those three tournament-defining matchups? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2021 bracket? And which underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 15 of the 26 double-digit seed upsets the past four years.
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