Navigate

2022 NCAA Tournament: Expert Consensus Round 1 Upsets (March Madness)

by |

Who would the experts pick to take down their bracket pool? To answer that question, we’ve analyzed and compiled dozens of expert brackets to produce our own consensus tournament bracket.

Let’s take a look at a few consensus upsets for Round 1!

Use our Bracket Optimizer to create the perfect bracket! >>

(10) Loyola Chicago over (7) Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost four of their last five games. That doesn’t bode well for NCAA Tournament play. The Buckeyes have an elite offense but the defense hasn’t lived up to expectations. Ohio State is allowing teams to shoot 34% from deep and only forcing turnovers at a 15.3% rate. Meanwhile, Loyola Chicago has held opponents to 31.5% from three-point range and 46.9% from inside the arc while dominating the defensive glass and forcing turnovers at nearly a 20% rate. The Ramblers have shot 38% from three and 55.8% from inside the arc. This is a bad matchup for a struggling Ohio State team.

Check out all of our 2022 March Madness Coverage >>

(11) Virginia Tech over (6) Texas

While Virginia Tech has ranked highly in the metrics all season, their resume simply has not backed it up. At one point this team was 10-10, with losses to N.C. State and Boston College, both ranked outside the top 100. After the sluggish start, Mike Young’s program only lost two more games the rest of the regular season, ranking 18th overall from that point on.

The Hokies are a lot of fun to watch with their fourth-ranked 3p% and a number of players who can gun it from beyond the arc. They depend a lot on the three-ball, with 38% of their points coming from deep, ranking 30th in the nation. While that is scary against teams that defend the perimeter well, it still means this team is capable of catching fire, as they had a six-game conference win streak this year and impressed in the ACC tournament.

It appears that the Hokies have really found their groove. They don’t have much depth, and their offense isn’t exactly dynamic, but they will still give opposing teams trouble with their deep shooting capabilities.

Other potential upsets to monitor:

  • (10) Miami over (7) USC
  • (13) South Dakota State over (4) Providence
  • (11) Michigan over (6) Colorado State
  • (10) Davidson over (7) Michigan State

Win prizes playing our free March Madness Bracket Contest >>


Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts