NCAA Tournament Upset Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

The NCAA Tournament brackets have been set, and over the next few days millions around the country will fill out their brackets, and try and come as close as possible to what actually happens. If you have ever filled out a bracket, you know simply picking the team with the higher seed will not get you far win it comes to winning your office pool.

Just like the regular-season, there are upsets all through the course of the tournament, and spotting early upsets is crucial to picking a strong bracket. For those looking for some help with their bracket, here is a look at potential upsets in all four regions.

First Round:

East Region – No. 11 Marquette over No. 6 Xavier: I think the Golden Eagles are much better than their seed, and will take down an Xavier team that played just two teams that are currently ranked in the top 25.

West Region - No. 11 Missouri over No. 6 Cincinnati: The Tigers can really score the basketball, and really match up well with the Bearcats.

West Region – No. 9 Tennessee over No. 8 Michigan: While I don’t think the Volunteers will make a deep run, I think they are a solid pick to upset Michigan.

Southeast Region - No. 12 Utah State over No. 5 Kansas State: Here is a classic 12 over 5 upset. I just think the Wildcats care too inconsistent, and Utah State is a lot better than people think.

Southeast Region – No. 10 Michigan State over No. 7 UCLA: The Spartans have the talent to pull off an early upset against a UCLA team that looked awful in their Pac-10 Tournament game against Oregon.

Southwest Region – No. 12. Richmond over No. 5 Vanderbilt: Richmond is another 12 seed that has a great shot at moving on. The Spiders 65-54 win over Purdue really sticks out.

Second Round:

East Region: – No. 11 Marquette over No. 3 Syracuse: Marquette beat Syracuse in their only conference game, and I think they pull off the upset one more time.

West Region: – No. 5 Arizona over No. 4 Texas: The Longhorns didn’t have a strong finish, and I think the Wildcats will show why the former No. 1 ranked team is a 4 seed.

Southeast Region – No. 6 St Johns over No. 3 BYU: I’m not buying the BYU hype, and I think St Johns wins easily against the Cougars in the second round.

Southeast Region – No. 12 Utah State over No. 4 Wisconsin: Utah State builds off their upset in the first round and becomes the highest seed to advance to the Sweet 16.

Sweet 16:

East Region – No. 4 Kentucky over No. 1 Ohio State: The biggest upset of the tournament comes when Kentucky knocks out the No. 1 overall seed.

West Region – No. 3 Connecticut over No. 2 San Diego State: Kemba Walker and the Huskies come in playing as well as any team in the country after their amazing run through the Big East Tournament, and will continue to roll with a minor upset over the Aztecs.

Southeast Region – No. 6 St Johns over No. 2 Florida: I really like St Johns to advance over an overrated Gators team.

Elite 8:

East Region No. 4 Kentucky over No. 2 North Carolina: Kentucky really turned it on late in the season, and will be the only team that isn’t a No. 1 seed in the Final Four.

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