NCAA tournament cheat sheet: bracket tips, upset picks, move coverage
The fields are set for this year’s NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Here’s everything you need to read to get ready for March Madness.
Looking for the brackets? The men’s NCAA tournament bracket can be found here, and the women’s is here.
Matt Bonesteel uses Ken Pomeroy’s metrics to identify the five teams who have the best shot at winning the national title.
Neil Greenberg is back with his guide to filling out a men’s tournament bracket that will give you the most realistic chance of winning your pool.
Bonesteel looks at four lower seeds who could be worth picking to win in the first round.
If anyone can beat the undefeated Gamcocks this season, it’ll probably be one of the teams picked by Megan Gauer.
Using a formula to masquerade the selection committee’s biases doesn’t make the draw any fairer to smaller programs, John Feinstein writes.
Patrick Stevens examines the decisions made by the men’s selection committee.
Two of the nation’s bluest bloods had confounding seasons. The Wildcats were able to make the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels, ranked No. 1 to start the season, were left out.
Adam Vachon picks some of the possible standouts in this year’s NCAA women’s tournament.
NBA writer Ben Golliver is back with his look at the possible lottery picks who will be playing in the men’s NCAA tournament.
All times Eastern
Tuesday
6:40 p.m.: No. 16 Southeast Missouri State vs. No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (truTV)
9:10 p.m.: No. 11 Pittsburgh vs. No. 11 Mississippi State (truTV)
Wednesday
6:40 p.m.: No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson vs. No. 16 Texas Southern (truTV)
9:10 p.m.: No. 11 Nevada vs. No. 11 Arizona State (truTV)
EAST REGION
Thursday
7:10 p.m.: No. 5 Duke vs. No. 12 Oral Roberts (CBS)
9:40 p.m.: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Louisiana (CBS)
Friday
12:15 p.m.: No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 10 USC (CBS)
2:45 p.m.: No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 15 Vermont (CBS)
6:50 p.m.: No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 Texas Southern/Fairleigh Dickinson (TNT)
7:10 p.m.: No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Providence (CBS)
9:20 p.m.: No. 8 Memphis vs. No. 9 Florida Atlantic (TNT)
9:40 p.m.: No. 3 Kansas State vs. No. 14 Montana State (CBS)
Duke will play its first NCAA tournament game without Mike Krzyzewski as its head coach since 1980, and the selection committee didn’t do the Blue Devils any favors: Oral Roberts ranks 23rd in offensive efficiency, per Ken Pomeroy, and turns over the ball on only 13.2 percent of its possessions, tops in the nation. The Eagles also feature guard Max Abmas, the tournament’s top scorer (22.2 points per game) who helped lead Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed two years ago.
SOUTH REGION
Thursday
12:15 p.m.: No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 9 West Virginia (CBS)
12:40 p.m.: No. 4 Virginia vs. No. 13 Furman (truTV)
1:40 p.m.: No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Utah State (TNT)
2:45 p.m.: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 16 Southeast Missouri State/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (CBS)
3:10 p.m.: No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 12 College of Charleston (truTV)
4:10 p.m.: No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 Princeton (TNT)
Friday
1:30 p.m.: No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 UC Santa Barbara (TNT)
4 p.m.: No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (TNT)
Despite being geographic neighbors and despite the schools’ football rivalry, Maryland and West Virginia have only faced each other twice this century on the basketball court, most recently in 2015 (a 69-59 Mountaineers win in the second round of the NCAA tournament). Missouri-Utah State features one of the biggest over/under totals of the first round (154 points as of Monday) and could be one of the more entertaining games over the first two days. The Aggies are two-point favorites despite being the lower seed.
MIDWEST REGION
Thursday
6:50 p.m.: No. 8 Iowa vs. No. 9 Auburn (TNT)
7:25 p.m.: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 15 Colgate (TBS)
9:10 p.m.: No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Northern Kentucky (TNT)
9:55 p.m.: No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Penn State (TBS)
Friday
12:40 p.m.: No. 3 Xavier vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (truTV)
3:10 p.m.: No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 11 Mississippi State/Pittsburgh (truTV)
7:25 p.m.: No. 5 Miami vs. No. 12 Drake (TBS)
9:55 p.m.: No. 4 Indiana vs. No. 13 Kent State (TBS)
All eyes will be on the health of Houston guard Marcus Sasser, a national player of the year candidate who suffered a groin injury in the American Athletic Conference tournament and didn’t play in a championship game loss to Memphis. The Cougars probably won’t need much of a contribution from Sasser to beat Northern Kentucky, but his presence would be crucial after that. The selection committee rewarded Auburn with a near-home game despite its No. 9 seed. Birmingham, Ala., is a little more than two hours to the northwest of Auburn.
WEST REGION
Thursday
2 p.m.: No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Howard (TBS)
4:30 p.m.: No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Illinois (TBS)
7:35 p.m.: No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Boise State (truTV)
10:05 p.m.: No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 15 UNC Asheville (truTV)
Friday
2 p.m.: No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 VCU (TBS)
4:30 p.m.: No. 4 Connecticut vs. No. 13 Iona (TBA)
7:35 p.m.: No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Grand Canyon (truTV)
10:05 p.m.: No. 6 TCU vs. No. 11 Arizona State/Nevada (truTV)
If this were the World Cup, the West Region would be the “group of death.” You could make the argument, based on Pomeroy’s rankings, that defending national champion Kansas is the fourth- or fifth-best team in this region despite being the top seed. UCLA, Connecticut and Gonzaga all rate out better, per Pomeroy’s metrics, and Saint Mary’s is only two spots behind the Jayhawks. Kansas Coach Bill Self will rejoin the team after undergoing a procedure to treat blocked arteries in his heart, which caused him to miss the Big 12 tournament.
Wednesday
7 p.m.: No. 11 Mississippi State vs. No. 11 Illinois (ESPNU)
9 p.m.: No. 16 Sacred Heart vs. No. 16 Southern (ESPNU)
Thursday
7 p.m.: No. 11 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Purdue (ESPN2)
9 p.m.: No. 16 Tennessee Tech vs. No. 16 Monmouth (ESPN2)
GREENVILLE REGION 1
Friday
11:30 a.m.: No. 8 South Florida vs. No. 9 Marquette (ESPN2)
Noon: No. 7 Arizona vs. No. 10 West Virginia (ESPN)
2 p.m.: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 Norfolk State (ESPN)
2:30 p.m.: No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 15 Holy Cross (ESPNews)
3:30 p.m.: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 14 Southern Utah (ESPN2)
6 p.m.: No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 Illinois/No. 11 Mississippi State (ESPNews)
Saturday
9 p.m.: No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Portland (ESPNU)
11:30 p.m.: No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 13 Sacramento State (ESPN2)
Defending national champion South Carolina is looking to become the first team to finish the season undefeated since Connecticut in 2015-16. The Gamecocks have won their games by a national-best 30.3 points on average, and opponents have finished within single digits only four times this season. They beat second-seeded Maryland by 25 points on Nov. 11. No. 4 seed UCLA was one of the few to stay within single digits of South Carolina this season, leading the Gamecocks at halftime but losing by nine on Nov. 29.
GREENVILLE REGION 2
Friday
3 p.m.: No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 11 UNLV (ESPNU)
5:30 p.m.: No. 3 LSU vs. No. 14 Hawaii (ESPN2)
7:30 p.m.: No. 2 Utah vs. No. 15 Gardner-Webb (ESPNU)
10 p.m.: No. 7 North Carolina State vs. No. 10 Princeton (ESPN2)
Saturday
11:30 a.m.: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 16 Tennessee Tech/Monmouth (ESPN2)
2 p.m.: No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Miami (ESPN)
2:30 p.m.: No. 5 Washington State vs. No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (ESPNU)
5 p.m.: No. 4 Villanova vs. No. 13 Cleveland State (ESPNU)
Indiana received a No. 1 seed for the first time in program history, and the selection committee rated the Hoosiers as the second-best team in the tournament behind South Carolina, meaning the two teams can’t meet until the national title game. The Hoosiers won their first Big Ten regular season title since 1983 but enter the NCAA tournament having lost two of their past three games. Second-seeded Utah features Pac-12 player of the year Alissa Pili and coach of the year Lynne Roberts, but the Utes haven’t played since an upset loss to Washington State in the conference tournament March 2.
SEATTLE REGION 3
Friday
5:30 p.m.: No. 1 Virginia Tech vs. No. 16 Chattanooga (ESPNU)
8 p.m.: No. 8 USC vs. No. 9 South Dakota State (ESPNews)
Saturday
1 p.m.: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Saint Louis (ABC)
1:30 p.m.: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 14 James Madison (ESPN2)
3 p.m.: No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 15 Vermont (ABC)
3:30 p.m.: No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 12 Toledo (ESPN2)
4 p.m.: No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 11 St. John’s/Purdue (ESPN)
5:30 p.m.: No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 10 Alabama (ESPN2)
Virginia Tech failed to make the NCAA tournament between 2006-07 and 2018-19 but now is a No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. The Hokies previously had never been higher than a No. 4 seed, but two-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley has helped take them to new heights. Second-seeded U-Conn., which has been to 14 straight Final Fours and nearly knocked off South Carolina in the regular season, stands in Virginia Tech’s way.
SEATTLE REGION 4
Friday
1:30 p.m.: No. 7 Florida State vs. No. 10 Georgia (ESPN2)
4 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Southeast Louisiana (ESPN)
7:30 p.m.: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart/Southern (ESPN2)
10 p.m.: No. 8 Mississippi vs. No. 9 Gonzaga (ESPNU)
Saturday
7 p.m.: No. 6 Colorado vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (ESPNews)
7:30 p.m.: No. 5 Louisville vs. No. 12 Drake (ESPN2)
9:30 p.m.: No. 3 Duke vs. No. 14 Iona (ESPN2)
10 p.m.: No. 4 Texas vs. No. 13 East Carolina (ESPN)
A No. 1 seed for the 12th time and for the third season in a row under Coach Tara VanDerveer, Stanford is paced by Pac-12 defensive player of the year Cameron Brink and all-conference standouts Haley Jones and Hannah Jump. Iowa junior sensation Caitlin Clark has 10 career triple-doubles, led the nation in assists per game and was second in scoring. The Hawkeyes’ starting five of Clark, Monika Czinano, Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin and McKenna Warnock have started 86 games together and are looking to avoid another second-round upset as a No. 2 seed (Creighton bounced second-seeded Iowa from the tournament last season).
