Another exciting college basketball season will end with the Final Four on April 6th and April 8th. It’s a wide-open year as ten teams have title odds of 25-1 or better. One of the most exciting aspects of March Madness is that anything can happen. This is one of the events sporting fans look forward to most on the sporting calendar.
What is March Madness?
March Madness is an annual college basketball tournament held by the NCAA. It’s when sports fanatics talk about bubble teams, buzzer-beaters, and brackets. In the single elimination tournament, 68 teams compete over three weekends of games.
Only 16 teams made it past the first weekend. The second week narrows this down to eight and then the Final Four. The two victors move on to play in the national championship. Online sports betting on the tournament is popular as bettors can place different bet types.
Top contenders
When looking at the latest predictions, the top contenders are no surprise. Each season, four teams are number one seeds. Purdue is the overall number-one seed in the selection committee’s bracket preview.
The Purdue Boilermakers have some weaknesses but are great at pulling off a win. With Fletcher Loyer as their star, they could win this year.
UConn Huskies lost five of their top players from last year’s team. Starters Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle also endured injuries that kept them from playing this season. Despite this, they managed to topple Gonzaga, Texas, North Carolina, and Indiana in non-league play. They then went straight to the top of the Big East. March Madness rarely goes as expected, but they are the team that could win.
Houston Cougars has an excellent record. Most of their recent wins were quite close, but they are hard to trip up and could go all the way.
Arizona Wildcats could be hard to beat in 2024. They are dominating in both offense and defense. They could easily be contenders for the final four.
Other teams having a good season
Tennessee Volunteers are having a good season, largely thanks to Jonas Aidoo.
North Carolina Tar Heels could surprise everyone. Their stats are good, and they could pull off a win if they are playing at their best.
Iowa State Cyclones have also had a good season, and star player Demarion Watson is a great asset.
When people play online games, the results can be unexpected, and these teams could also pull off an unpredictable win.
Wild cards
The Florida Owls made it to the Final Four a year ago, and they could do it again. They have been hit-and-miss all season. One of the high points was when they beat Arizona. At their worst, they lost an away game against Florida Gulf Coast and at home to Bryant. The defense is poor, and if they do get to the Dance, they could be the biggest wild card.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs may not even make it to the NCAA tournament, but the opportunities to win are there. They had a victory against Kentucky recently and still have games to play. Gonzaga is a top-25 team and basically isn’t much different from Kentucky and Wisconsin. They have one of the best two-point offenses, are better than most on the glass, and don’t commit many turnovers. Nolan Hickman is an unknown factor, and anything could happen depending on his form.
