With just a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, college hoops fans are gearing up for the NCAA Tournament! The “Big Dance” is one of the most highly anticipated sporting events each year. With the tournament coming up soon, we’ve made five bold March Madness Betting predictions in regards to the tournament.
Five Bold Predictions for the NCAA Tournament
1. UConn Will Make the Final Four
Danny Hurley has turned the UConn program around. He has done a great job of recruiting, and he has the Huskies back in the Top 25. After Tuesday night’s come-from-behind victory over Villanova, Connecticut looks like a team that could make a long tournament run.
People who are into analytics also think that the Huskies have what it takes to make it to the Final Four. In the past, teams that did well in the Pomeroy rankings also tend to go far in the tournament. UConn is 25th in offensive efficiency, while they’re 26th in defensive efficiency. Combine that with their strength of schedule, and you have a team that can do some damage in the postseason.
2. Purdue is the Best Offensive Team in the Country, but……
The Boilermakers are the top-ranked team in the Pomeroy offensive efficiency rankings. Matt Painter is arguably the best X’s and O’s coach in the country. His team is an offensive machine, and very few teams have been able to slow down their offense. However, Purdue is very suspect on the defensive end of the floor, and because of this, they won’t make it past the Elite 8.
3. Memphis Will Make a Long Tournament Run!
After Penny Hardaway’s explosion at a press conference, the Memphis Tigers have turned their season around. This team is loaded with talent, but they hadn’t been playing up to expectations until just a couple of weeks ago. After ending Houston’s 37-game home winning streak last week, Memphis looks like it’s poised for a long postseason run. This team is talented, and they have what it takes to get to the Final Four.
4. Davidson is the Real Deal!
Currently sitting at 22-4 and leading the Atlantic 10, Davidson is riding high! Bob McKillop is one of the best “unknown” coaches in the country. McKillop has been at Davidson for 32 years, and he is very highly respected among his peers. He helped turn Stephen Curry into one of the best players in the world.
McKillop’s teams are known for how hard they play and their hard-to-stop offense. Davidson should be in the field of 68, and they won’t get a particularly high seed. None of the teams from the Power 5 conferences will want to run into them.
5. Watch out for Providence!
We’re not really sure why, but we just have a hunch that Providence is going to go far in the tournament. Ed Cooley has quietly built a very good program in Rhode Island. He doesn’t get the five-star recruits, but he coaches as hard as anyone, and he is very charismatic. His players seem to love him, and his team looks like a team that can go on a run.