With a dramatic conference realignment that will reduce the Pac-12 to just two schools, the 2024 NCAA Tournament is undoubtedly the conference’s best chance to end its championship drought. It’s been 27 years since the Pac-12 had a team cut down the nets and was the last team featured in “One Shining Moment.” It’s the longest active stretch of any major conference without a national champion, and No. 2 Arizona appears to be the Pac-12’s best chance to win the March Madness bracket in 2024.
The conference registers just three other bids for the 2024 NCAA Tournament: No. 7 Washington State, No. 10 Colorado and No. 11 Oregon. With the Final Four taking place in Phoenix, Arizona would like to have that home court advantage and end the Pac-12 championship drought. How will the Wildcats fare in a West Region 2024 March Madness bracket that includes Blue Bloods like North Carolina and Michigan? Before you make your 2024 NCAA Tournament predictions, check out the March Madness bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
This model, which simulates each game 10,000 times, has scored 20 first-round upsets of double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016 and nailed UConn’s dramatic Final Four run as a 4-seed last year. Was an incredible 22-10 in the first round, including an astounding 12-4 in the Midwest and West Regionals.
Last year, SportsLine’s computer simulation produced huge 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 players in three of the last 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 figure out which teams will pull off the biggest upsets. You shouldn’t even think about choosing without seeing what their model has to say.
Top upset bracket picks for March 2024
One surprise from the Midwest region that the model identified: No. 11 seed Oregon swept No. 6 South Carolina in the first round. Dana Altman usually has Oregon peak at the end of the season, and that was the case this year as the Ducks ran the table in the Pac-12 Tournament. The streak was highlighted by a 67-59 victory over Arizona in the semifinals.
South Carolina was beaten by 19 points in the SEC Tournament against Auburn. The Gamecocks also went just 4-3 in their last seven regular season games. South Carolina has been one of college basketball’s biggest surprises this year, but SportsLine’s model is riding the hot hand in this situation and calls for Oregon to pull off the upset as a double-digit seed.
Another Midwest surprise the model identified: No. 3 Creighton beat No. 2 Tennessee and No. 1 Purdue on its way to the Final Four. It’s a common saying in basketball that you can’t teach size, and the Bluejays have that in 7-foot Ryan Kalkbrenner. He is a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year who is also averaging 17.1 points on the other end. He is surrounded by elite shooters as only five teams in the nation make more 3-pointers per game than Creighton.
Creighton could face No. 2 Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen, and the Vols’ last five NCAA Tournament losses have come to teams seeded worse than them. If Creighton advances, then it could face No. 1 Purdue in the Elite Eight, and the Boilermakers aren’t playing their best entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Their average margin of victory has decreased each month of the season, and they’ve allowed 9.5 3-pointers per game in their four losses this year. Creighton is averaging 11.1 3-pointers over his last 10 games and the Model likes his chances to reach his first Final Four. See which other March Madness 2024 matchups to target here.
How to Make 2024 NCAA Tournament Predictions
Who wins each tournament-defining match? And which teams will make surprising runs in the 2024 NCAA Tournament? With the model’s record for bracket-breaking calls, you’ll want to see which stunners he’s making this year before locking in any 2024 NCAA picks.
So what is the optimal bracket for the 2024 NCAA Tournament? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine to see which 12-seeds reach the Sweet 16 and which region features 10-seeds, 11-seeds and 13-seeds delivering first-round upsets and has 9-seeds in the Elite Eight, all from a 92% win pattern of the group three players from the last five tournaments.