Our boldest March Madness first round upset prediction
Matt Hayes' bracketis go big or go home. He has seven double-digit seeds winning first round games.
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He's got your typical 5-12 upsets, going with High Point to beatWisconsinand McNeese beating Vanderbilt in the first round.
But he wasn't done. His prediction of 14-seed Wright State beating 3-seedVirginiain the Midwest Region was our boldest take.
VCU Rams (27-7)VCU closed the season with a 21-3 record over the final 24 games and won 16 of its last 17 games. A matchup against No. 6 North Carolina in the first round, before a potential matchup against No. 3 Illinois, sets up the Rams as well as an 11-seed can be set up.
(Charles LeClaire, Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (31-1) With 90.7 points per game, Miami was second in the nation in points per game, trailing only Alabama, while leading the nation with 52.4% shooting from the field.
(Aaron Doster, Aaron Doster-Imagn Images)
South Florida Bulls (24-8) South Florida enters the NCAA Tournament on an 11-game winning streak. winning the American Conference tournament championship game 70-55 over Wichita State.
(Wesley Hale, Wesley Hale-Imagn Images)
Troy Trojans (22-11) Troy could be the biggest Cinderella this year after winning back-to-back Sun Belt tournament titles. Nebraska is officially on upset alert with a matchup against Troy.
(Gregg Pachkowski/Pensacola News Journal, Gregg Pachkowski/Pensacola News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Saint Louis Billikens (28-5)Saint Louis can light up the scoreboard, averaging 87.2 points per game, and ranking among the national leaders in 3-pointers per game.
(Charles LeClaire, Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
High Point Panthers (30-4) The Panthers offense is explosive enough to threaten any higher seed it faces. They average 90 points per game shooting 49.1% from the field.
(Eric Canha, Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
1/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
VCU Rams (27-7)VCU closed the season with a 21-3 record over the final 24 games and won 16 of its last 17 games. A matchup against No. 6 North Carolina in the first round, before a potential matchup against No. 3 Illinois, sets up the Rams as well as an 11-seed can be set up.
(Charles LeClaire, Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
1/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
VCU Rams (27-7)VCU closed the season with a 21-3 record over the final 24 games and won 16 of its last 17 games. A matchup against No. 6 North Carolina in the first round, before a potential matchup against No. 3 Illinois, sets up the Rams as well as an 11-seed can be set up.
(Charles LeClaire, Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
2/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (31-1) With 90.7 points per game, Miami was second in the nation in points per game, trailing only Alabama, while leading the nation with 52.4% shooting from the field.
(Aaron Doster, Aaron Doster-Imagn Images)
3/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
South Florida Bulls (24-8) South Florida enters the NCAA Tournament on an 11-game winning streak. winning the American Conference tournament championship game 70-55 over Wichita State.
(Wesley Hale, Wesley Hale-Imagn Images)
4/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
Troy Trojans (22-11) Troy could be the biggest Cinderella this year after winning back-to-back Sun Belt tournament titles. Nebraska is officially on upset alert with a matchup against Troy.
(Gregg Pachkowski/Pensacola News Journal, Gregg Pachkowski/Pensacola News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
5/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
Saint Louis Billikens (28-5)Saint Louis can light up the scoreboard, averaging 87.2 points per game, and ranking among the national leaders in 3-pointers per game.
(Charles LeClaire, Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
6/6
March Madness bracket busters eye the next big upset
High Point Panthers (30-4) The Panthers offense is explosive enough to threaten any higher seed it faces. They average 90 points per game shooting 49.1% from the field.
(Eric Canha, Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
Our biggest March Madness Sweet 16 surprise predictions
12-seed Akron was picked to reach the Sweet 16 twice in the Midwest Region (Eddie Timanusand Jordan Mendoza are bullish on the Zips).
12-seed McNeese got a vote for the Sweet 16 from Matt Hayes. He picked the Cowboys to beat Vanderbilt and thenNebraskain the South Region.
Craig Meyerhas 11-seedTexaswinning Tuesday night's play-in game vs. NC State, then beating 6-seed BYU in Round 1 and shocking 3-seed Gonzaga in the second round before losing toPurdue.
10-seedUCLAgot some hometown cooking fromJordan Mendoza, one of our L.A.-based reporters. He picks the Bruins to knock off 2-seedUConnin the second round of the East Region.
Blake Toppmeyer has BYU making the Elite Eight and beating former WCC foe Gonzaga in Round 2.
Paul Myerberg and Craig Meyer have BYU losing in the first round to the Texas/NC State play-in game winner.
Dark horse NCAA Final Four predictions
For the most part, there were no real surprises in our Final Four picks. Jordan Mendoza and Eddie Timanus went chalk, hoping to match last year's all-1-seed Final Four. The highest-seeded team picked by our staff to reach the Final Four was 5-seed St. John's, who Paul Myerberg picked to win the loaded East Region.
Most popular NCAA Tournament Final Four predictions
Arizona to win the West Region was picked eight times (80%).
Duke,Michiganand Florida were each picked six times to win their respective regions (60%).
Arkansasgot two votes to win the West Region. Brent Schrotenboer and Craig Meyer are buying stock in John Calipari, and more likely Darius Acuff Jr.
Three teams got one vote. In addition to Paul's St. John's pick, Craig Meyer has UConn winning the East andJohn BricepredictsIllinoiswill win the South.
