These are my NCAA Tournament picks for 2024. I would suggest not picking Connecticut to win if you’re playing in a pool with more than a 50 people. Connecticut is the favorite, but everyone will be picking them to win. However, this is a one-and-done tournament, and anything could happen. You’re better off picking another team to win the tournament because you’ll have a good chance of finishing first in your pool if that team advances further in the field.
At any rate, here are my picks:
Wow, this quadrant is loaded. I have a short list of teams I wanted to pick to win the NCAA Tournament, and four of them are among this group: Connecticut, Iowa State, Auburn, and BYU. If you’re in a very small pool (25 or fewer people), you’ll probably want to just have Connecticut advancing. If, however, you’re in a larger pool, you should pick one of the other teams.
My personal choice in this scenario is Auburn. The Tigers should have been a No. 2 seed. It’s absurd that they’re a No. 4. That potential Sweet 16 game between them and Connecticut is a national championship-caliber matchup.
As far as potential upsets here, I like Morehead State to beat Illinois. The Illini are the one highly ranked team in this quadrant that I don’t like at all.
This quadrant is much weaker. I only like North Carolina and Arizona in this region. Arizona is my favorite of the two. In fact, the Wildcats are near the top of my short list of champions.
With that in mind, I think there will be some upsets in this quadrant. I’m not a big believer in Baylor and Alabama, so it wouldn’t shock me if they both lose early.
This region is much better than the western region. I like three teams here: Houston, Marquette, and Duke. Of the three, Houston and Duke are at the top, making the Elite Eight matchup a championship-caliber game. Again, if you’re in a very small pool, I’d just go chalk with Houston, but anything more than 50 entries commands a more contrarian strategy.
I like Oakland to pull an upset or two. The team profiles as one that could make an unexpected run, and it’s not like Kentucky is some powerhouse this year.
I understand anyone being skittish about backing Purdue after their recent debacle as a No. 1 seed. I don’t trust their head coach in the NCAA Tournament. I also don’t trust Tennessee’s head coach either, so I’m going to pick Creighton to emerge from this region.
I really wanted to pick McNeese State to make a deep run. However, Gonzaga appears to be too strong as a No. 5. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gonzaga beat Purdue in the Sweet 16.
I thought long and hard about having Creighton beat Duke, but I think the Blue Devils are slightly better. Arizona, however, is my predicted champion. The Wildcats are playing in an easy region, so they have a much better chance of advancing than teams in tougher quadrants. Based on the odds, I’d say this gives them a better shot of winning the title.
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