The 2021 NCAA tournament is finally upon us. The first round of the March Madness matchup will begin on Thursday, meaning that you have just hours to submit a bracket to the person in the office who hosts the pool each year and in the process, about a dozen e-mails. Sends.
At Sporting News we put together a lot of material to help you prepare for making relatively educated decisions while filling your bracket, and to enjoy the tournament in general.
Here is a roundup of our March Madness bracket predictions, regional previews, annoying pinches, tournament odds and more to help guide you through the NCAA Tournament.
March issue: Get your printable NCAA tournament bracket
Printable 2021 March Madness Bracket
You can get a printable NCAA tournament bracket to fill before and during tournament play. The Sporting News will continue to update the bracket as the games are played.
Click the image above to download Sporting News’ printable NCAA tournament bracket (PDF).
Who will win the NCAA tournament in 2021?
Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan and Illinois have the best chances to win March Madness in 2021, According to FanDuel Sportsbook. It makes sense – they are four No. 1 seeds – and the undefeated Bulldogs would be a popular pick in several brackets to win their first national championship.
Iowa, Houston, Alabama and Ohio State have slightly timid bets to win it all at the second tier, but there is still high-end talent to raise the chalk.
The team that has won the NCAA tournament only 5 times since 1990 has won 3 or fewer points, but this is always possible – especially in a season as more uncertain as this one. The lowest seed to win the NCAA tournament in 1985 was No. 8 Villenova.
March Madness 2021 expected
| Team | Difference |
| Gonzaga | +200 |
| Boiler | +600 |
| Michigan | +600 |
| Illinois | +700 |
| Iowa | +1600 |
| Houston | +1800 |
| Alabama | 13:00 |
| Ohio State | 5:00 |
| Florida State | +3000 |
| West Virginia | +3000 |
You can check the starting odds for the entire area of 68 here.
UPS limit by seed
15 vs 2 | 14 vs 3 | 13 vs 4 | 12 vs 5
March Madness bracket forecast 2021
It won’t be enough that you have an expert tell you who they think will win it all, so we’ve been blamed for helping many writers submit their NCAA Tournament predictions when your brackets bang in the first round. Does. Here are the pics of experts to reach the Final Four of 2021 with a link to their full analysis.
Mike D Coursey: Gonzaga, Alabama, Purdue, Illinois
Bill Bender: Gonzaga, Florida State, Ohio State, Illinois
Ryan Fagan: Gonzaga, Texas, Ohio State, Oklahoma State
Matt Lutowski: Gonzaga, Texas, Boiler, Illinois
Winnie Iyer: Gonzaga, Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois
March madness upsets predictions
Upsetting in the NCAA tournament is not easy. Otherwise, it will not be called March Madness. However, every year there are at least a few underseated teams that make one or two upsets in the first weekend and go on a Cinderella run. It is just a matter of exposing them.
Sporting News’ Bill Bender most upset his nine sleeper teams in 2021.
Liberty (Round 1 opponent: Oklahoma State-9.5): The Flames have won 12 straight games in the Big Dance, and the event is 82-16 over the past three seasons. Liberty upset 5–12 in 2019, and they have the necessary guards to score one run with Derrick McHay and Chris Parker. Liberty is one of six Division I teams that have averaged fewer than 10 turnovers per game. This skillful game can be easily disturbed. This style can make it interesting against the winner of Oklahoma State and Tennessee-Oregon State. This is a 5–12 upset that we like.
UC-Santa Barbara (Round 1 opponent: Criton-6.5): Gaucho has lost only one game since January. This is his first tournament appearance since 2011, but UC-Santa Barbara brings an experienced team that has won 20-plus games each of the last four seasons under Joe Pastrnak. Jaquori McLaughlin averaged 16.2 points and 5.2 assists per game. This is a team capable of defeating Crayton and challenging the winner of Virginia-Ohio. This is the other 5-12 upset we like.
Winthop (Round 1 opponent: Villanova-6): The Eagles are returning to the tournament for the first time since 2017, and this is their second appearance under ninth-year coach Pat Kelsey. Winthrop has four players who averaged double figures. Senior Chandler Woodrin and freshman DJ Burns are productive at the post, and as a result the Eagles are top-10 in the nation in rebounding. This is a good formula for a potential upset in the tournament. Villanova is a tough matchup, but Post’s presence may make it interesting.
Read the rest of the sporting news sleeper pics here.
NCAA Bracket Area Breakdown
If a simple pinch is not your cup of tea, Mike DeCourcy goes on to break down all four areas of the bracket for best storylines, some possible upsets, and some in-depth analysis. We have also found figures and sleepers that can decide each area.
West Zone: coming soon.
East Zone: coming soon.
South Zone: Upset Predictions, Final Four Pick
Midwest Region: Upset Predictions, Final Four Pick
NCAA tournament odds (and ends)
Play the odds: Learn the history of each seed when picking up your final four and championship teams.
A stupid guide to filling your NCAA bracket: Self-explanatory.
TeamRankings’ tournament prediction tool: Use this to identify the highest-probability tournament winners and the most likely NCAA upset picks.
Best, funniest names in your bracket: Trouble coming up with a clever name for your bracket? we’ve got you covered.
More March Madness news from Sporting News
Sporting News’ 2020-21 College Basketball All-American: SN’s Mike DeCourcy named the 15 best players of the college basketball season of 2020-21.
Sporting News Player of the Year: Luka Garza of Iowa became the first iteration winner of the award … Michael Jordan.
Sporting News Coach of the Year: Michigan’s Juwan Howard had to follow a legend, take the program late, work during an epidemic, change seniors at PG&C and do it all with a coaching college without a background.
35 Best Teams That Did Not Win NCAA Tournament: Sporting News picks teams from the last three decades that did not give a title. Which was the best?
March Madness Cinderella Players We Will Never Forget: Stephen Curry is one of the greatest Cinderella players in March Madness history, but he is not at number 1 on our list.
The most hated college basketball players: Sporting News looks at the most hated college hoops players of all time. Don’t worry, there are too many dukes on this list.
10 Best Schools Without Final Four Attendance: After the 64-team era started in 1984-85, which are not the best schools that have not made the last four?
Best college player who never made the NCAA tournament: Say hello to Ben Simmons, Noah Vonleh, Nerlens Noel, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope and others who watched March Madness on TV. This is quite a list.
An oral history of Steph Curry’s 2008 breakout: In 2008, a younger acquaintance of Davidson fully handled the NCAA tournament.
Offset city: Revitalizing the wildly inaugural venue in NCAA tournament history.
Leave a Reply