It’s March Madness time and you’re probably hard at work filling out your one bracket (wink, wink). DraftKings Network will bring you predictions and betting picks throughout the entire 2024 NCAA Tournament. Here, our staff is going to give you their predictions for the Final Four and National Championship Game this season.
2024 March Madness: DraftKings Network staff predictions
Collin Sherwin, College Sports Editor
Final Four: No. 1 UConn, No. 3 Baylor, No. 1 Houston, No. 3 Creighton
UConn is going to run away with this thing, so don’t worry about that. But I think the most interesting bracket is the Midwest, where the NCAA did their darndest to get Zach Edey and Matt Painter to a Final Four. But they’re going to run into another Great… post player… in Great Osobor of Utah State, and that’s where the Boilermakers go down early yet again.
Houston’s toughness and experience in these spots will be crucial, and Jamal Shead gives them a reliable enough clutch scorer to go with an iconic defense. And Baylor’s consistent toughness and shot-making ability will be what gets them back to the Final Four yet again.
Creighton is playing out of their minds right now, and they can score from all five positions on the floor with an effective defense that fouls less than anyone in America. It’ll be the quality that gets them the win later.
Huskies and Bluejays in the national championship game, and Dan Hurley cuts down the nets yet again.
Benjamin Zweiman, Senior Managing Editor
Final Four: No. 2 Iowa State, No. 1 UNC, No. 1 Houston, No. 3 Creighton
To start, this is a bit different from my bracket approach. This is more the Final Four I’d like to see. It sucks that the East Region has a few teams I wanted to carry into the Final Four (UConn, ISU, Auburn). If you look at KenPom and the past champions, there are a few metrics that really stick out. One of them is being a top 10-15 team in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Final Four and champion are almost always elite offensively (or defensively) team. We see offense win out over defense more times than not; though there are outliers like UVA and Texas Tech more recently. That’s a big reason why I like Iowa State.
For one, the Cyclones are one of the hottest teams in the Nation right now having won the best conference tournament in the Big 12. They dismantled fellow Final Four team Houston in the Big 12 final. Iowa State seems to check a lot of boxes but the one question is can they keep it up on offense? I think the Cyclones will be fine on offense. Remember, in the Big 12 they’re playing against mostly top-50 defensive teams per KenPom. Put Iowa State in another conference and their offense likely looks closer to elite.
UNC’s West Region is pretty weak. I almost always get tricked into Arizona going deep into the tournament and we all saw how that worked out last season. I think the Tarheels are just too talented and experienced for this region and should make it through.
The Midwest, at least on paper, appears to be the weakest. Creighton was a point away from the Final Four last season as a 6-seed. It’s mostly the same team back and the Bluejays can beat anyone in the Nation; they beat the Huskies pretty easily at home this season. There are also major flaws with some of the higher seeds in that Region (Purdue, Kansas, Gonzaga and Tennessee). Creighton feels like the most complete team and we usually see those squads build on past tournaments.
I really like UK and Marquette if Tyler Kolek is healthy. I think a lot of brackets are going to fade Houston after what Iowa State did to the Cougars in the Big 12 title game. Fortunately, Houston won’t face anything close to the Cyclones defensively in the South Region. Really, if Iowa State didn’t exist, Houston goes 32-2 this season with one loss being to Kansas on the road and a 1-point loss to TCU on the road. That’s it. This Houston team feels a lot like the elite UVA Tony Bennett teams; the 2019 one not the one that lost to a 16-seed. If L.J. Cryer is on, I think Houston makes it out of the South.
National Championship: Creighton over UNC
I’ll go a bit out there and pick Creighton to upset the Tarheels in the National Championship, giving us a second straight Big East champion. The Bluejays have three of the best players in the tournament in Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner. They have a good mix of inside and outside players with Scheierman and Alexander scoring on the perimeter while Kalkbrenner patrols the paint. They have a very good coach in Greg McDermott, who has found plenty of success in March. I think they all take the next step and are crowned champions.
Chinmay Vaidya, Sports Editor
Final Four: No. 4 Auburn, No. 1 UNC, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 3 Creighton
Although I do think UConn is the best team on paper, it’s been more than 15 years since a team last won back-to-back titles. I think the Huskies get bounced in the Sweet 16 by an Auburn team playing some of its best basketball at the moment.
After a disastrous 2022-23 campaign, I think UNC bounces back in a big way. The Tar Heels are experienced, talented and have a relatively straightforward region. Outside of the always concerning potential matchup with Michigan State in the round of 32, UNC shouldn’t have many issues.
I went into more detail on how John Calipari has tweaked his formula at Kentucky to adjust to the times, and this might be the year he’s finally got the perfect combination. The Wildcats have an experienced scorer in Antonio Reeves and two high-lottery selections in Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham. They might be a bit thin on the interior but I think Kentucky’s offense should continue to roll. It feels like Duke is the trending pick in this region, putting Kentucky under the radar despite having a No. 3 seed.
Forgive me for not having faith in Purdue in the Midwest region. While I don’t think the Boilermakers go out to a No. 16 seed, I think there’s a lot of bad matchups for Zach Edey in this region. If Kansas doesn’t take out Purdue provided the Jayhawks have Hunter Dickinson back, I think Creighton ultimately gets the job done. There’s experience, talent and interior size on a team that went to the Elite 8 a year ago. As long as Ryan Kalkbrenner stays healthy, I like the Bluejays to make it to the Final Four.
National Championship: UNC over Kentucky
The Tar Heels lost to Villanova in 2016 in one of the wildest title games, ending what seemed like a return to prominence for Roy Williams. North Carolina promptly returned to the title game with what felt like a much lesser team in 2017 and won this time. Even though the Tar Heels might not have the top-end NBA talent of some other teams, they have redemption on their minds. I think Kentucky gets past a few strong defensive outfits in Houston and Creighton, but UNC finally locks the Wildcats down. After failing to seal the national title two seasons ago, Hubert Davis’ squad gets the job done in 2024.
Grace McDermott, Staff Writer
Final Four: No. 1 UConn, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 3 Creighton, No. 1 UNC
I so badly wanted Iowa State to make a Final Four run this season, but the Cyclones got stuck in arguably the toughest region, going up against conference tournament champions Illinois, Auburn, and UConn. The matchups will make for some very exciting basketball, but I just don’t see anyone getting past the reigning champions. Their scoring depth is unmatched, and their defense has been stout all season as they took down opponent after opponent.
The Midwest region, on the other hand, will be rife with chaos and upsets. The 11, 12, and 13 seeds there all have a shot to make a Sweet Sixteen run, and Purdue is a very weak No. 1. I have Creighton emerging from it all — their three-man offense, when it gets going, can run up the score on just about any team. Tennessee does not have the defensive presence to reach the Final Four and will get bounced early.
North Carolina comes in despite a loss to NC State in the ACC championship. The Tar Heels defeated Duke twice this season, and have plenty of experienced players on their roster who can get them to Glendale. It was between them and Alabama, but the Crimson Tide’s defensive weaknesses have been exposed a few too many times this season for me to feel comfortable sending them to the Final Four.
Kentucky sneaks past Houston in the South here. The Cougars’ brutal Big XII loss to Iowa State planted some seeds of doubt about their ability to face teams at the highest level in the postseason, and the Wildcats’ high-scoring offense will be a challenge to contain.
National Championship: UConn over Kentucky
UConn beats UNC, and Kentucky beats Creighton in the Final Four in my bracket. I’ve believed for months that UConn will repeat this season, and nothing they’ve done this season has shaken that belief. I would love to watch this matchup, and it may come down to the wire, but the defensive divide between these teams puts the Huskies over the top.
David Fucillo, Head of Sports Betting Content
Final Four: No. 4 Auburn, No. 1 North Carolina, No. 1 Houston, No. 2 Tennessee
National Championship: UNC over Tennessee
Due to a hectic work schedule, I watched approximately three college basketball games this season. They all involved my alma mater American University. This is the bracket of someone who briefly heard some folks saying JMU is a great underdog pick, and someone else mentioning UNC has won their national titles in years they lost in the ACC tournament. Sounds good to me!
