NCAA Tournament Bold Predictions


NCAA Tournament bold predictions, as the Campus Insiders staff weighs in on what kind of madness awaits us this March.


Jeff Bartl

Three double-digit seeds will make the Sweet 16 or beyond. Gun to my head, I’d say those are Wichita State, Middle Tennessee and UNC-Wilmington, but I’m not pinning it down to just those three. A lot of the seeding didn’t make sense, leaving many teams over-seeded and those like the Shockers and Blue Raiders down a few lines from where they should’ve been. I don’t anticipate a lot of chalk, and that’s why I can see a few of the lower-seeded teams making it to the second weekend.

Dave Miller

The Big East sent seven teams to the Big Dance: Villanova, Butler, Creighton, Seton Hall, Marquette, Xavier and Providence. It’s become one of my favorite leagues even though it is a much different Big East than we were used to during its glory days. I am a DePaul alumnus, owing the government a ton of coin because of it (but that’s neither here nor there), so this bold prediction hits home with the Blue Demons being a league member. But I can see the conference having only one representative in the Sweet Sixteen, with that team being Jay Wright’s defending champs. Whether it is because of a tough matchup or unfortunate seeding, I think the league, outside of Villanova, could struggle in this year’s Dance.

Brian Stultz

On the floor? Middle Tennessee and my man Kermit Davis will make the Sweet 16 after wins over Minnesota and Butler.

Off the floor? LaVar Ball will storm the court after his son Lonzo gets fouled too hard, yelling at the referees while then proceeding to berate the TV commentators for praising other players besides Lonzo, proving that he is the worst sport parent since Marv Marinovich.

Robert Judin

I’m going to dial into the East region for my bold prediction. I’ve been on the fence about Mike White since he got to Florida, but I think his second season in Gainesville proved he’s the man for the job. I have Florida getting past Villanova in the Sweet 16 but losing to Baylor in the Elite Eight. So, whether you want to label the “bold” part as the Gators making it to the Elite Eight or the simple fact I have them beating the defending national champs, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m feeling gutsy here, and that’s my call.

Jonathan Bass

USC goes from First Four to Sweet 16. The Trojans seemed to get their footing late in the season following a putrid February, and nearly knocked off rival UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament. Providence will be USC’s toughest game prior to the Sweet 16, and the Trojans will even put a bit of a scare into Duke come the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.

Sam Falcone

We’re going to have three different 5/12 upsets. Nevada over Iowa State and Middle Tennessee over Minnesota are going to be trendy picks, but let’s add UNC-Wilmington over Virginia onto that list. Yes, I’m aware of how suffocating the Hoos’ defense is, but they average a putrid 66.6 points per game – that ranks No. 309 out of 347 total teams. Want to know where UNCW’s scoring offense ranks? No. 10 in the country at 85.2 PPG. Don’t sleep on the Seahawks.

Kurt Schwerman

I’m not sure how “bold” this prediction is, but I’ll say that no more than one No. 1 seed makes the Final Four. Maybe even zero. There has not been one hands down, great team this season to convince me otherwise. I think that in recent years, this year especially, the elite teams have remained elite, but the bottom-dwellers have gotten better. The gap is progressively closing between the rich and the poor.

MORE: Final Four Predictions, Who Will NCAA Tournament