The NCAA Tournament continues on Saturday with the Fourth Round. One of the best ways to get in on the action this March is with a survivor pool.
The $1 Million Men’s College Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool is live on DraftKings. You can join plenty of other pools for the tournament on DraftKings as well.
Here are my best picks and teams to avoid for the Fourth Round.
NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool Fourth Round Strategy
Getting down to just eight teams left in the tournament makes survivor pools tough to navigate. For most entries, the decision on who to pick is just based on which teams you have left of the eight still in the field. However, I will still give my favorite pick for the fourth round, as well as the favorite that I would avoid.
Best Fourth Round Survivor Pick
Michigan over Tennessee
Michigan has looked dominant through the first three rounds of the tournament. The Wolverines are the No. 1-ranked team on KenPom and have beaten each of their three opponents by double digits so far in the tournament. Now, Michigan gets to take on a 6-seed in this round. Tennessee has been fantastic in this tournament and deserves this spot among the final eight teams. However, there is a reason the Volunteers are a 6-seed. Michigan is happy not to have to face a fully healthy Iowa State squad in this round.
Michigan has just been consistently excellent all season. It only lost three games all year, which came on a neutral court against Duke, on a neutral court in the Big Ten title game against Purdue, and to Wisconsin. Michigan has been consistently excellent and should get out of this matchup with a win.
Fourth Round Survivor Favorite to Avoid
Duke over UConn
Duke and UConn are facing off on Sunday in a battle of blue bloods. Duke has been one of the best teams in the country all season, but has not been at its best in the tournament. Injuries played a big role in that, as Duke was missing two starters, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster, during the first two rounds. While they were somewhat limited in terms of minutes, both players returned last round against St. John’s. However, it was another close game for Duke. The Blue Devils trailed the Red Storm at halftime and went on to win by only five points. Duke also survived a scare in the opening round, nearly losing to 16-seed Siena in what would’ve been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.
While Duke has not been at its best, UConn is peaking at the right time. The Huskies showed flashes of greatness throughout the season, but also had a few major lapses. Once again, Dan Hurley’s team is playing its best basketball in the tournament. The Huskies won each of their first two games by double digits, including an impressive blowout win over UCLA. On Friday night, they picked up a great win over Michigan State to advance to this stage. This is an experienced team with a two-time national title-winning head coach. Duke is a deserving favorite over UConn, but the Huskies are not a team I would want to get in the way of with my survivor pool pick.
