Bracketology Predictions - Breaking Down The #1 seeds
by Tim Furious
Sometimes we all like to be experts and slide through these improbable underdog bets because nobody else is selecting them for their March Madness brackets predictions. Then some douchebag goes ahead and just picks all the top-seeds to advance and then makes a guess between two teams he’s read about on ESPN. Doesn’t that drive you nuts?
Well sometimes the easiest bracketology practices are the best ones. But before you just thunder through your NCAA college basketball brackets, let’s take a look at Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Syracuse. I’ll continue to break down the brackets even further this week, but right now we need to figure out just how far we want to advance these number-ones.
Midwest Brackets - #1 Kansas Jayhawks (32-2, 14-16-1 ATS)
In the Big 12, there was no team that was remotely as competitive as Kansas. They dominated the Big 12 Tournament, winning their games by an average of +11.0 points. Led by Marcus Morris, Xavier Henry and Sherron Collins this is a balanced team that will have a huge target on their backs.
Yet the one thing threatening Kansas isn’t themselves – it’s the fact they got thrown in to the same bracket as the Ohio State Buckeyes who are ranked as the two-seed in the Midwest. Overall, there’s no better team. They’ve reigned supreme in tournament play and they carried that success over in to tournament style play. With the Buckeyes bearing down on them, however, Kansas has its work cut out for them.
Odds To Win National Title: +175
East Brackets - #1 Kentucky Wildcats (32-2, 17-5 ATS)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again about Kentucky. With John Wall projected as the number-one draft pick this year in the NBA, he has a huge mountain to climb in March Madness. No number-one pick in the NBA Draft has won the national title the same year in the past 10 years.
That being said, there are tons of things to love about Kentucky. They have a tremendous inside-outside presence with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, and one thing they proved in the SEC Tournament was that they have the guts to win tight games. Boasting secret weapons like Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe boasts there chances a lot.
Yet three of those players are all freshman (Patterson is a junior) and that has to be a cause for worry. None of these guys are really used to the thrilling pressure of thriving in a tournament style frenzy like March Madness, which was proven when they struggled to wipe the floor with their opponents in the SEC Tournament.
Odds To Win National Title: +350
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West Brackets - #1 Syracuse Orange (28-4, 18-9 ATS)
Speaking of tournament play, this is the only top-ranked seed in the entire March Madness bracket that didn’t win a conference title. Instead, Syracuse was upended by the Georgetown Hoyas in the quarters of the Big East Tournament. As a bracket prediction, it’s almost impossible to envision them going the distance because of that.
Odds To Win National Title: +700
South Brackets - #1 Duke Blue Devils (29-5 SU, 18-14-1 ATS)
Discipline and size. That’s what the Duke Blue Devils hold over nearly every other team in the country. They won their games in the ACC Tournament by an average point differential of just +6.0 points, so making them a NCAAB spread bet isn’t a particularly favorable prediction.
Even though they’re best player, Kyle Singler, is a freshman, he is a Coach K kind of player. Hard nosed and controlled with a level head, Singler is surrounded by experienced veterans. Most importantly he is protected by a 7-foot-1 senior named Brian Zoubek who is an absolute monster underneath the paint.
Duke’s overall size is going to make it frustrating and difficult for teams to either score or jack up the tempo and that’s a dangerous factor when you’re nailing yourself to some bracket predictions. Duke can score in a multitude of ways, but what makes them a lethal threat to the health of your brackets (if you don’t pick them) is that they’re built to control the pace of the game and as their tight point differential in the ACC Tournament proves, tight games with tremendous pressure are their wheelhouse.
Odds To Win National Title: +700
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