March Madness expert brackets: Compare Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, more picks to win 2024 NCAA Tournament

Dan Treacy

March Madness expert brackets: Compare Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, more picks to win 2024 NCAA Tournament image

Millions of brackets will be created between Selection Sunday and the start of the NCAA Tournament's first round on Thursday. Some are well-researched, while others might be based on anything from logos and mascots to geography and even the flip of a coin. None of them will be perfect, and very few will even be mostly correct.

The beauty of March is that we can all take a stab about it, and someone who doesn't pay much attention to college basketball often has just as good of a chance as someone who follows the sport year-round.

Some of the biggest names who do follow college basketball year-round have already made their voices heard, and their voices are worth listening to — particularly knowing the experience Dick Vitale and other experts have covering college basketball.

Here's a look at March Madness expert brackets, from Vitale to Jay Bilas and more.

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March Madness expert brackets

Jay Bilas bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 2 Arizona
South No. 1 Houston
Midwest No. 1 Purdue

National championship: UConn over Purdue

Bilas is largely going with chalk in his March Madness bracket, as he's picking three 1-seeds to reach the Final Four along with 2-seed Arizona. Bilas is also going with the favorite to win the national championship, choosing UConn to go back-to-back with a title game victory over Purdue.

Bilas' bracket is light on upsets, which might not come as a surprise given his Final Four. His biggest upset pick is No. 12 Grand Canyon over No. 5 St. Mary's in the first round, citing the Lopes' impressive trio of players led by Tyon Grant-Foster. 

RELATED: Barack Obama picks his men's & women's brackets

Dick Vitale bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 3 Baylor
South No. 3 Kentucky
Midwest No. 2 Tennessee

National championship: Kentucky over UConn

Vitale took more risks than Bilas, only choosing one 1-seed for his Final Four. Along with UConn, Vitale picked Baylor, Kentucky, and Tennessee to make the trip to Glendale.

Vitale's championship pick is also bold. While Kentucky is a popular pick among the non-No. 1 seeds, the Wildcats would have to break many trends to win the title thanks to their underwhelming defense. 

Then again, UConn and Kentucky met in the national championship game 10 years ago under far more unlikely circumstances. Vitale believes John Calipari's deep squad can climb back to the top.

REGION-BY-REGION GUIDES: South | Midwest | West | East

Mike DeCourcy bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 2 Arizona
South No. 3 Kentucky
Midwest No. 2 Tennessee

National championship: UConn over Tennessee

SN's Mike DeCourcy is similarly rolling with two SEC powerhouses to make the Final Four, choosing both Kentucky and Tennessee to reach Glendale. Unlike Vitale, though, DeCourcy has Arizona playing in a home-state Final Four in what would be a special scene.

Both Wildcats come up short in DeCourcy's bracket, however. His title game picks are UConn and Tennessee, with the Huskies going back-to-back. 

DeCourcy's biggest upset pick is No. 12 James Madison over No. 5 Wisconsin, setting up a matchup between the Dukes and No. 4 Duke. 

EXPERT PICKS: DeCourcy (UConn) | Bender (UConn) | Iyer (UConn) | Yanchulis (South Carolina women)

Andy Katz bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 2 Arizona
South No. 3 Kentucky
Midwest No. 1 Purdue

National championship: UConn over Purdue

NCAA correspondent Andy Katz is going with some of the popular Final Four options, picking 1-seeds UConn and Purdue in addition to Arizona and Kentucky.

Arizona and Kentucky are knocked out in the national semifinals in Katz's bracket, as he has UConn taking down Purdue for the title.

Katz's biggest upset pick is No. 13 Samford over No. 4 Kansas, citing the uncertain health of the Jayhawks' two biggest pieces. He also picked No. 11 Oregon to reach the Sweet 16 with an upset victory over No. 3 Creighton.

John Fanta bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 2 Arizona
South No. 1 Houston
Midwest No. 2 Tennessee

National championship: UConn over Tennessee

No. 1 Houston has curiously been left out of most experts' Final Four picks, but Fox Sports' John Fanta is taking the Cougars to return to make their second appearance under Kelvin Sampson.

Fanta does not have Houston in the national title game, however. He's going with UConn over Tennessee, joining many other experts who are picking the Huskies to go back-to-back.

Fanta's bracket also includes significant upsets, as he has two 13-seeds winning with Charleston over Alabama and Yale over Auburn. Sorry, SEC. 

HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 115 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5

Seth Davis bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 2 Arizona
South No. 1 Houston
Midwest No. 1 Purdue

National championship: UConn over Houston

CBS Sports' Seth Davis is also backing UConn, picking the Huskies to go back-to-back, but he's taking Houston to reach the title game. Davis has three 1-seeds in the Final Four, with Arizona the only exception. 

Jay Wright bracket

Final Four

Region Team
East No. 1 UConn
West No. 2 Arizona
South No. 1 Houston
Midwest No. 1 Purdue

National championship: UConn over Houston

Hey, that looks familiar! Yes, former Villanova coach Jay Wright has the exact same Final Four as his CBS Sports colleague Seth Davis. Not only that, but Wright has the same national championship result: UConn over Houston.

These picks might have turned out differently if Villanova made the field, but Wright knows a thing or two about what it takes to win the NCAA Tournament. Like most experts, he's not overthinking UConn. 

Dan Treacy

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Dan Treacy is a content producer for Sporting News, joining in 2022 after graduating from Boston University. He founded @allsportsnews on Instagram in 2012 and has written for Lineups and Yardbarker.