by Adam Kaul, on Mar 14, 2024 3:33:24 PM
It's almost the best time of the year for college basketball fans, the college championship tournament. Selection Sunday is this coming Sunday, March 17th and we will have the official bracket. The first round kicks off Thursday, March 21st. The 2024 NCAA Championship is Monday, April 8th, in Glendale Arizona. We're here to give you a preview inside what this years tournament may hold.
Conference breakdown
Before conference tournaments concluded, the Big 12 is projected to have the most teams by any conference in this years tournament. With 9 teams looking to punch their ticket to the dance. Followed by the SEC with 7-8 teams that could make it into the tournament. The Big Ten and the Mountain West both being projected 6 teams. A surprise this season has been the ACC with many teams on the outside of the bubble currently.
Favorites
Starting off with possible 1 seeds for each region, three teams stand out as heavy favorites to lock up the top seed in their regions. Houston, UConn, and Purdue all have had a stellar season all posting 28-3 records. They look to win out their conference tournaments and solidify themselves as 1 seeds. The fourth one seed is still up for grabs as UNC coming off a win against Duke, looks to hold it down. But possible teams include Tennessee, Arizona, Marquette, and red hot Creighton.
Hot Teams going into tournament
As we know, the 1 seed definitely doesn't guarantee a deep run in the tourney. Often the teams that get hot before the tournament are poised for success come the Men's Championship Tournament. So here are some teams that have been cooking as of late. First, Creighton Blue Jays who have been 7-1 down the stretch with big wins over No.1 UConn and No. 5 Marquette. Next, Kentucky has put on a show after a rough stretch going 7-1 in the their last eight, beating three top 15 ranked opponents. Utah State has been very impressive as well, winning 10 of their last 11 games.
Cinderella Run Candidates
Everybody loves a good underdog story or picking a team not many expect to win. So here are some possible cinderella teams. Nevada has had a solid season going 26-6 so far and are projected around the 6-8 seed range. Princeton has cruised through the Ivy League, going 24-3 this season, they could make a run as an 10-12 seed. James Madison has gone 16-1 over there last 17 games and punched a ticket winnings the Sunbelt conference tournament, hoping to be a 13 seed. Another possible 13 seed, the Samford Bulldogs have been shooting the lights out and could build momentum to make a run.
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