by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 4/6/2026 Graphic by Hoops HQ Tonight will crown another National Champion in College Basketball between the Michigan Wolverines and Connecticut Huskies. The Wolverines are 7-point favorites as of the morning of the game even though the Huskies will be competing for their 3rd Championship in the last 4 years; having won in 2023 and 2024. Michigan Michigan has been rolling since the First Round and all the way through the Final Four when they beat

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/30/2026 Photo by Patrick Smith/ Getty Imgaes UConn vs Illinois (Ill -130) After one of the greatest buzzer beaters in NCAA Tournament history, (And that's saying something...) the Connecticut Huskies are making their 3rd Final Four appearance in 4 years to face Illinois. Illinois is making their first Final Four appearance since 2005 when they lost in the National Championship. They are also in the middle of their 6th straight Tournament run

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/25/2026 Photo by Mark J. Terrill/ Associated Press 1 Duke vs 5 St. John's Prediction: Duke Duke has been underwhelming at best this tournament and now come head-to-head with their toughest opponent. St John's struggled against Darryn Peterson and Kansas on Sunday and now will have to contend with an even better offense headlined by Cameron Boozer who's averaging 21 and 12 so far in the tournament. Duke is favored by 6.5 which I'd love to bet

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/22/2026 Photo by Christine Tannous/ IndyStar 2 Miami vs 7 Purdue Prediction: Purdue Purdue is still my favorite to make it out of the West and after rolling on Queens in the first round and Miami barely making it past Missouri, this one should be in the 90-70 range for the Boilermakers. 2 Iowa State vs 7 Kentucky Prediction: Iowa State The Cyclones had an easy First Round but will have to deal with Otega Oweh and Mouhamed Dioubate this time

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/21/2026 Photo by Brynn Anderson/ Associated Press 1 Duke vs 9 TCU Prediction: Duke Duke may have came out flat against Siena but they came out in the 2nd half and looked like they have all year. Watch for them to come out against TCU on fire. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6 Louisville vs 3 Michigan St   Prediction: Michigan St Michigan State has been one of my favorite teams for this tournament and I see no reason to change cour

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/19/26 We're FINALLY here! Before the first round starts today at 12:15 between Ohio State and TCU lets dive into the bracket as a whole and even some of the more exciting matchups! The tightest matchups are of course between the closest seeds, with 8 Utah State - 9 Villanova and 7 Miami - 10 Missouri having the closest spreads with Utah State -1.5. In total, 3 of the 8-9 matchups, 3 of the 7-10 matchups and 2 of the 6-11 matchups have a sprea

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/18/26 All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook as of 3/17 Photo by Ethan Hymen/ Yahoo Sports To Win NCAA Championship : 1. Duke +300 2. Arizona +350 3. Michigan +370 4. Florida +700 5. Houston +1100 6. Iowa State +1600 7. Purdue +2000 8. Illinois +2200 9. UConn +2200 I have Duke winning this year and by a comfortable margin. I really like Houston, Purdue and Arizona as well after their runs in their respective confer

by Zak Drapeau Sportz Nation - 3/17/26 Photo by Jarod C. Tilton/ Getty Images 16 UMBC vs 16 Howard to face 1 Michigan Tuesday at 6:40 pm One of the only 2 teams to ever win a March Madness game with a #16-ranking, UMBC faces off against Howard in the first First Four game. As a slight favorite vs Howard, UMBC is led by their back court pairing of Jah'Likai King and Ace Valentine who together average 27-7.5-5.5 on 44% shooting. Together with some great role playing from forwar

Scoring in college basketball has been harder to come by than ever this season. With tighter defensive schemes, fewer freebies at the rim, and little margin for error, there are no easy buckets—every point has to be earned. Yet even in a league where offense feels suffocated, a handful of blue-chip studs have found ways to force the issue, bending defenses and stuffing stat sheets night after night. Some are household names living up to the hype; others are unexpected standou