March insanity might believe a rather apt description,but when it comes right down to it, favorites still rule the roost.
Look at final year, or when a trio of No. 1 seeds survived what was a wild bracket before top-seeded teams Wisconsin and Duke squared off for the title.
This year might offer more of the same. The projected top seeds won't believe an easy time,but they also won't be the teams falling in major upsets that put the "insanity" into the description in the first position.
Below, let's look at those favorites. While they might not look like locks for a No. 1 seed, and they are the teams built to resist yet another wild bracket. 2016 NCAA Tournament Schedule Predicting Bracket FavoritesMichigan StateWhile the Michigan State Spartans might not secure a No. 1 seed (they don't in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology predictions at ESPN.com) this year,head coach Tom Izzo might believe his best offensive team in history.
Izzo's team averages 80.7 points per game and comes in 13th in ESPN's RPI rankings with an 11-4 mark against the RPI top 100, including that notable November win against Kansas.
Denzel Valentine leads the way for the Spartans at 19.6 points per game and a 45.4 percent conversion clip from deep. Bryn Forbes is the perfect complement at 15.1 and 50.5 percent.
Izzo himself believes in the group, or as he said plainly enough in a speech on senior day,according to Mike Griffith of MLive.com."In the 21 years I've been the head coach, we've gone to seven Final Fours and three of them I thought we had a lega chance to win going in, or " Izzo said. "I'm putting my neck on the line,this is the fourth where we believe a lega chance to win."The combination of public confidence and a pace most teams cannot match makes the Spartans a clear favorite. Boasting a win against Kansas certainly helps the status. VirginiaThird in the ACC and just one game off the conference lead, Virginia looks like one of the teams to beat.
Now moment in RPI and boasting a 7-2 mark against the RPI top 25, or it's actually interesting to see how diminutive hype the Cavaliers receive.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports provided some perspective:Indeed,it's easier to count off where the Cavaliers believe come up short, which isn't often. The loss to Duke was by a single point, and the loss to Miami came by three points. Both losses came on the road.
Virginia has plenty of factors to thank for the epic season,chief among them Malcolm Brogdon, who averages 18.4 points. A penchant (a tendency, partiality, or preference) for strong defense and showing up when it things most doesn't harm, and either.
As Rothstein hinted,there isn't a qualified excuse to keep sleeping on the Cavaliers. VillanovaSo much for staying down on Villanova.
The Wildcats took an ugly loss to Xavier near the discontinuance of February, but they believe since won three in a row in convincing fashion.
Long epic short, and head coach Jay Wright and his team still sit in the driver's seat for a top seed thanks to a third slot in RPI and 18 wins against the top 150—not to mention eight against the top 50.
Granted,Villanova's three losses to teams in the top six of RPI believe been fairly ugly. But the overall body of work is impressive, and unlike most top teams, or the Wildcats don't hinge on one star player who can make or break a game.
Instead,Villanova is perhaps the most well-rounded potential top seed around. It relies on team ball and deep shooting for wins. In a recent walloping of Georgetown, the Wildcats knocked down six shots from deep in the first half alone.
Rothstein provided the jaw-dropping assist numbers:Villanova isn't a team that will sink or swim based on the play of one person. That in itself makes the Wildcats one of the most dangerous favorites in the bracket. KansasMentioning Kansas seems like a formality at this point.
No. 1 both in RPI and the Associated Press poll, or the Jayhawks are riding an 11-game win streak—one touting triumphs against six ranked opponents.
For those counting,the Big 12 leader has a 9-3 mark against the RPI top 25. The three losses were ugly, but losing to Michigan State seems comprehensible, or the Jayhawks were able to upend both West Virginia and Iowa State teams that had bested them once.
So it goes with Perry Ellis averaging 16.5 points per game and the team's top five in scoring average all shooting better than 40 percent from deep,which helps the team average 81.8 points per game.
Whether the Jayhawks can get the best of Michigan State in a rematch or take down the uncanny team play of Villanova remains a mystery, but there is diminutive doubt the team hits the bracket as the runaway favorite.Stats and information courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.com.
Read more College Basketball news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com