2019 Free March Madness Predictions – West Region Odds & Bracketology Projections: Looking at the West Region of the 2019 NCAA Tournament Bracket, I don’t see an obvious national championship frontrunner. However, I do see one of the deeper regions in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, and there are probably five teams who could legitimately head to the Final Four.
2019 Free NCAA Tournament Picks: West Region Odds & Bracketology Projections
NCAA West Bracket Favorites to Make the Final Four
Gonzaga: There’s no way to deny that Gonzaga laid an absolute dud to Saint Mary’s in the WCC tournament, but the Bulldogs’ other two losses came to Tennessee, a No. 2 seed, and North Carolina, another No. 1 seed. They also own a win over Duke. Led by Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga is averaging 88.8 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting. The Bulldogs can outscore any team out there and any team in this region.
Michigan: Their rival Michigan State proved to be an Achilles’ heel, and the Wolverines lost all three meetings with the Spartans, accounting for half of their losses overall. The good news is that MSU is not in this region, and Michigan has handled just about everyone else. In fact, the Wolverines completely blew out Villanova, Purdue and North Carolina during the year. Armed with plenty of 3-point firepower and the second-ranked scoring defense, Michigan is built for a deep tournament run.
Florida State: The Seminoles may have finished fourth in the ACC, but the three teams that finished ahead of them all earned No. 1 seeds. By the way, none of those three teams are in the West Region, so the Seminoles certainly aren’t going to be intimidated by anyone they face. FSU rolls into March Madness having won 14 of its last 16 games, with the only losses coming to North Carolina and then Duke in the ACC tournament final. This a dangerous No. 4 seed.
NCAA West Bracket Upset Specials
Murray State over Marquette: This could be one of the best individual matchups of the entire tournament as Marquette’s Markus Howard, who is fighting a bit of a wrist injury, faces off against Murray State’s Ja Morant. Both guards are explosive scorers, and both should thrive in the tempo of this game. Marquette is the deeper team, but neither side has a lockdown defense, making it a perfect matchup for a player like Morant. He’s being talked about as the potential No. 2 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and he could absolutely take over this one and lead the Racers to a win, especially if Howard’s wrist turns out to bother him more than expected.
Florida over Nevada: When they are running the court and living in transition, the Wolf Pack are a fun team to watch. However, they can look downright ugly when teams can slow the pace and make them play in the half court. Twice this year, San Diego State, a ball-control team, was able to beat them and hold them below 60 points in the process. The Gators currently rank in the Top 25 nationally in scoring defense and could give Nevada fits by imposing a slower pace.
NCAA West Bracket High Seed on Alert
Gonzaga: Yes, the Bulldogs were also one of my favorites to emerge from this region, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be on alert. Lurking in the Round of 32 could be Syracuse, and a couple of days is not much time to prepare for Jim Boeheim’s zone defense. As loaded as Gonzaga appears to be on paper, we have seen the Syracuse zone absolutely perplex some of the best players and offenses year in and year out. The Bulldogs better watch themselves.
NCAA West Bracket PREDICTION: Florida State Seminoles
2019 NCAA Bracket West Region Odds
West Regional Winner
Gonzaga (#1) +160
Michigan (#2) +275
Texas Tech (#3) +475
Florida State (#4) +600
Buffalo (#6) +1600
Marquette (#5) +1600
Nevada (#7) +2000
Syracuse (#8) +3000
Florida (#10) +5000
Baylor (#9) +6500
Murray State (#12) +8000
Vermont (#13) +8000
Arizona State (#11) +10000
Montana (#15) +10000
Northern Kentucky (#14) +10000
St. John’s (#11) +10000
Fairleigh Dickinson (#16) +20000
Prairie View A&M (#16) +20000
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