March Madness bracket predictions 2024: Picks for every game, Final Four and more

Upsets, buzzer-beaters, Cinderellas, ONIONS!, and wall-to-wall college basketball action – you better believe that the March Madness bracket is here and we’re ready for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

So much of the 2023-24 regular season was highlighted by two things that can inform how we make our March Madness bracket predictions, trying to find the right picks for upsets and obviously for the Final Four and national champion. For one, we’ve seen the elites of college hoops stand out, most notably UConn, Purdue and Houston, the Top 3 overall seeds in the NCAA Tournament. But beyond that, there’s also been a ton of parity throughout the country.

That could very much lead to a ridiculously wild and calamitous trip through March Madness. But even then, we’re trying to predict as much of that as possible. So we’re going game-by-game through the entire NCAA Tournament bracket, from the First Four to the Final Four all the way to crowning a national champion. 

Will the bracket get busted? It’s always in play for March Madness, but this is how we’re feeling as we pick every game in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

March Madness 2024 bracket predictions: First Four picks

16 Wagner vs. 16 Howard

Both Wagner and Howard were not favorites to win the NEC and MEAC Tournaments, respectively, but got hot at the right time to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament field. The Seahawks and Bison are both highly lackluster defensively but Howard is the far more efficient offense as Wagner shot just under 40% from the field this season. Give me Seth Towns to get a March Madness win with Howard just before he turns 30 years old.

Pick: Howard advances

10 Colorado State vs. 10 Virginia

Virginia was arguably the most controversial inclusion in the field of 68, earning one of the Last Four In at-large berths over some snubs many considered more deserving. We know under Tony Bennett that the Cavaliers want to make it a slow, grind-it-out affair. But Colorado State is Top 45 in KenPom efficiency on both offense and defense while also playing at a pace outside the Top 250. For UVA to have any chance, this is about as bad of a matchup as they could've drawn.

Pick: Colorado State advances

16 Grambling vs. 16 Montana State

This is a fascinating matchup between Grambling and Montana State as former's offense has been an issue all season while the Bobcats defense has been an issue at times. Even if the Tigers get a few more good looks than normal in this game, I suspect that Montana State and Robert Ford III will be able to score more efficiently, especially with Grambling's turnover issues and the Bobcats, even if poor defensively overall, being an opportunistic defense at creating turnovers.

Pick: Montana State advances

10 Colorado vs. 10 Boise State

Colorado entered the 2023-24 season with high expectations but struggled a bit to start of Pac-12 play. Advanced metrics have loved this team all season, though, and they showed it toward the end of the year with a deep run in the conference tournament in addition to a strong finish to the regular season. Boise State is a solid, well-balanced team, but the Buffaloes' presence inside with Eddie Lampkin and Tristen da Silva along with KJ Simpson will be too much for the Broncos to contain, especially with Colorado hitting its stride of late.

Pick: Colorado advances