2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (2025)

Gary Parrish

CBS Sports Insider

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (2)

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Gary Parrish's Bracket

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Watching UConn become the first back-to-back national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007 would be a blast. And let the record show that the Huskies are the betting-market favorites. So I realize picking against them might prove dumb. But, that acknowledged, I'm going to continue to do what I've been doing most of this season and put my faith in the Boilermakers. Wouldn't that be a great story -- Purdue winning the 2024 NCAA Tournament after losing to a No. 16 seed in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament? Zach Edey holding the championship trophy as a two-time National Player of the Year? Matt Painter shedding his label as the best coach yet to make a Final Four by becoming the first coach to take Purdue to the final weekend of the season since 1980? It's all such good stuff. Just getting to the Final Four will be challenging considering Tennessee, Creighton and Kansas are also in the MIdwest Region. But I'm still taking the Boilermakers to make it to Arizona. And then, once they get there, I think they'll win two more games and cut nets on the second Monday in April.

Matt Norlander

CBS Sports Senior Writer

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (5)

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Matt Norlander's Bracket

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A locomotive screaming down the tracks. The 31-3 reigning national champions enter this NCAA Tournament as the strongest team with the best chance to repeat of any squad since Florida in 2007. Dan Hurley’s Huskies are led by All-American guard Tristen Newton (15.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.0 apg), who holds the school record for triple-doubles. In the middle is 7-foot-2 “Cling Kong,” Donvan Clingan, a menace of a defender and the type of player you can’t simulate in practice. The Huskies boast the nation’s most efficient offense (126.6 adjusted points per 100 possessions, via KenPom.com) and overwhelm teams in a variety of ways. Sophomore Alex Karaban (39.5%) and senior Cam Spencer (44.4%) are both outstanding 3-point shooters. The Huskies have been beaten by Kansas, Seton Hall and Creighton, but all of those were road games, and there are no more road games left this season. UConn will try to become the fourth No. 1 overall seed to win the national title, joining 2007 Florida, 2012 Kentucky and 2013 Louisville.

Jerry Palm

CBS Sports Bracketologist

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (8)

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Jerry Palm's Bracket

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This is not the Purdue you have seen the last few years. Braden Smith has made a big jump from last season to this one. Fletcher Loyer is better. Lance Jones gives Purdue defense, shooting and another ball handler. And Zach Edey is better too. This is a team on a mission. This is the year they accomplish it.

Kyle Boone

CBS Sports Writer

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (11)

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Kyle Boone's Bracket

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The antagonistic side of me initially picked Purdue over UConn in the title game. But I sat and thought about it and couldn’t make any reasonable case to pick any team other than UConn as champion. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee the Huskies win it all and become the first repeat champs since Florida in 2007. There’s a lot that can happen in the next few weeks. But they have the electric offense, the guard depth, the size down low, the shooting [takes breath] .. the passing and the pizzazz of a team that’s best in the country and knows it. Every top team in this field has a high level at which they can play but no one has a top gear like UConn.

Chip Patterson

CBS Sports Writer

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (14)

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Chip Patterson's Bracket

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The selection committee set up plenty of stumbling blocks for the reigning champs, placing what I believe to be the best 1-seed, the best 2-seed (Iowa State), the best 3-seed (Illinois) and the best 4-seed (Auburn) in the Huskies bracket. And if accomplishing a historic feat like the first back-to-back title runs since 2007 is going to require that kind of epic journey, UConn has every skill and tool needed to make it back to the top of the mountain. UConn can win in all different ways, overwhelming teams with their offense in high-scoring track meets or out-executing the opponent in low-possession grinders, and it has a handful of key contributors who could each step up as needed during a title run.

David Cobb

CBS Sports Writer

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (17)

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David Cobb's Bracket

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Purdue is set for redemption after an embarrassing 2023 loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round. This time around, the Boilermakers are a much better 3-point shooting team and have a more favorable path than No. 1 overall seed UConn. The Huskies were the most dominant team leading up to the Big Dance the East Region bracket is filled with peril.

Dennis Dodd

CBS Sports Senior Writer

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (20)

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Dennis Dodd's Bracket

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What is there not to like? The Heels won the ACC regular season. They beat Tennessee and swept Duke. RJ Davis is an elite guard and ACC player of the year. Hubert Davis has settled in after going to the national championship game in his first season and missing the tournament in his second. This is his best team. There will be/and always is pressure to win it all. Armando Bacot is not as dominating as previous. Harrison Ingram (Stanford) and Cormac Ryan (Notre Dame) have been big additions in the portal. The West Region is friendly, assuming here that Alabama and Michigan State don't get in the way before the regional in L.A. An interesting regional final against Arizona looms. In the end, sometimes you go with chalk. UNC has been to the most Final Fours (21) and No. 1 seeds (18) all-time. It is tied with Kentucky for the most tournament wins ever (131). This is what the Heels do.

Cameron Salerno

Cameron Salerno

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (23)

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Cameron Salerno's Bracket

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Defense wins championships. That is part of the reason why I’m picking Houston to win it all. The Cougars have the top-ranked scoring defense in the country and terrific guard play on offense to complement it. Jamal Shead is arguably the best point guard in the nation, and J'wan Roberts is an X-Factor on both ends of the floor. Houston’s path to the Final Four is favorable. The Cougars weren’t able to reach the Final Four in their home state last spring, but this will be the year they run the table and win their first national championship in program history.

Josh Nagel

Senior Analyst

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (26)

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Josh Nagel's Bracket

Tim Doyle

HQ Analyst

2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (29)

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Tim Doyle's Bracket
2024 NCAA Tournament Expert Bracket Picks & Analysis for March Madness (2025)

FAQs

Who is favored to win March Madness 2024 predictions? ›

2024 Men's Final Four: UConn-Alabama odds

The Huskies are favorites to defeat the Crimson Tide in Saturday's Final Four matchup, according to the BetMGM college basketball odds.

Who is the most accurate bracket expert for March Madness? ›

Heat Check CBB's Lukas Harkins is one of the most accurate bracketologists in all of college basketball media. Harkins has seven total years of experience in March Madness projections, consistently providing updated bracket predictions, team analysis, and “bubble watch” deep dives.

Who's most likely to win March Madness? ›

March Madness Power Rankings: Final Four
  • T-3) North Carolina State Wolfpack (+1600) In the never-ending fight against fate, destiny always wins. ...
  • 2) Purdue Boilermakers (+205) Basketball may very well be the most superstar-driven sport in the world. ...
  • 1) UConn Huskies (-195)
Apr 2, 2024

Has anyone perfectly predicted March Madness? ›

Has anyone had a perfect bracket? No, but a neurologist from Columbus, Ohio, named Gregg Nigl had the verified bracket closest to perfection.

Who's predicted to win the NCAA Tournament? ›

Now that we are down to the last two teams, the defending champion UConn Huskies remain the favorites to win the men's college basketball national title. Despite Zach Edey and the Boilermakers playing great basketball, the Huskies are considerably favorites as of Monday morning.

Who is favored, UConn or Purdue? ›

Huskies

Has anyone ever got a perfect bracket in March Madness? ›

NO ONE HAS EVER picked a verified perfect NCAA men's bracket, and it's probably not going to happen in our lifetime, or the lifetime of our kids, or their kids, or their kids.

What's the furthest someone has gone with a perfect bracket? ›

What is the longest an NCAA bracket has been perfect? Greg Nigl of Columbus, Ohio, set the NCAA Tournament bracket record in 2019. He correctly predicted the winner of the first 49 games, breaking the previous record of 39 set in 2017 and becoming the first person to carry a perfect bracket past the second round.

What are the odds of having a perfect bracket for March Madness? ›

Why is it so hard to pick a perfect bracket? The chances of picking a perfect bracket is: 1 in 2 to the 67th power, or 1 in 147,573,952,589,676,412,928, or about 147 quintillion. This assumes that each participant has a 50/50 chance of winning.

What are the chances UConn wins March Madness? ›

2025 NCAA Tournament championship odds
UConn+1000
Duke+1200
Houston+1600
Kansas+2000
North Carolina+2000
145 more rows
Apr 9, 2024

Who is ranked number one in March Madness? ›

UConn Huskies. NCAA seed: No. 1.

Who will win women's March Madness in 2024? ›

South Carolina beats Iowa to complete unbeaten season, win 2024 women's NCAA title. The 2024 NCAA DI women's basketball tournament is complete, as South Carolina took down Iowa 87-75 to complete an undefeated season. In 2023, Iowa upset an undefeated South Carolina team in the Final Four.

What is the furthest someone has gotten in March Madness? ›

The longest (verifiable) streak of correct picks in an NCAA tournament bracket to start the beloved March Madness tournament is 49, a mark that was established in 2019.

Can Arizona win it all? ›

The Wildcats are on the top tier of title contenders with UConn, Purdue and Houston. With an explosive, up-tempo offense and a substantially better defense than last season's version, this team can win it all. Arizona is balanced offensively, with explosive guards and very good size to score around and protect the rim.

Are any brackets still alive? ›

And, in the process, the Aggies busted the final perfect bracket. As the 2024 men's NCAA Tournament enters the second round on Saturday, there are no more perfect brackets remaining among major online platforms (NCAA, ESPN, CBS and Yahoo), according to the NCAA.

Who will win March Madness 2024 women's? ›

South Carolina beats Iowa to complete unbeaten season, win 2024 women's NCAA title.

Who is Favoured for March Madness? ›

March Madness NCAA championship odds: Duke, UNC among favorites to win 2025 national title. The 2023-24 college basketball season came to a close on Monday, with No. 1 overall seed UConn once again claiming the NCAA Tournament national championship with a 75-60 win vs. Purdue.

What are the odds of UConn winning the national championship? ›

2025 NCAA Tournament championship odds
UConn+1000
Ohio State+6000
UCLA+6000
Rutgers+8000
Michigan+8000
145 more rows
Apr 9, 2024

Where is NCAA men's final four in 2024? ›

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