NCAA Tournament 2024 bracket picks, upsets, best Cinderella teams: Model simulates March Madness 10K times

In the preseason, the Duke Blue Devils were predicted to be a No. 1 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket, but their season didn’t go according to plan. They lost their second game of the year at home to Arizona and ended up 24-8, second in the ACC’s regular season standings. The Blue Devils enter the 2024 March Madness bracket on a two-game losing streak after falling for the second time to arch-rival North Carolina and eventual ACC Tournament Champion NC State. Led by sophomore center Kyle Filipowski, Duke opens the 2024 NCAA bracket as the No. 4 seed in the South Region on Friday against Vermont.

Are the Blue Devils an under-the-radar pick who can trip up No. 1 seed Houston in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket 2024? Before making any 2024 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine. 

Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks recently, beating over 92 percent of all CBS Sports brackets three of the past five tournaments. In an upset-laden 2023 NCAA Tournament, the model was all over UConn’s shocking Final Four run as a 4-seed. It went an amazing 23-9 in the first round, including an astounding 12-4 in the Midwest and West regions.

It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception in 2016.

There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2024 March Madness pools. Now, with the 2024 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.

2024 March Madness bracket games to watch

One of the 2024 March Madness matchups to keep an eye on: No. 4 seed Duke vs. No. 13 seed Vermont in the South Region. This is Jon Scheyer’s second season at the helm after Mike Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils to 13 Final Fours and five national championships. Kyle Filipowski returned after last year’s second-round loss to Tennessee and is averaging 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, the Catamounts went 28-6 overall and 15-1 in conference play to win the AEC. This is Vermont’s third NCAA Tournament appearance in a row and John Becker’s squad nearly upset Arkansas (75-71) two years ago as a No. 13 seed.

Also in the South Region, Wisconsin vs. James Madison figures to be yet another pivotal 5 vs. 12 matchup. Despite making a run to the Big Ten Conference Championship Game, the Badgers enter the NCAA Tournament 2024 having lost nine of their last 15 games. The Dukes, on the other hand, have won 13 straight games, eight of which were decided by 10 or more points.

The third matchup to watch in the South Region features No. 3 seed Kentucky vs. No. 14 seed Oakland. The Wildcats have won seven of their last nine games and are the second highest scoring team in the country at 89.4 points per game. The Grizzlies have won eight of their last nine, including the Horizon League Tournament, and are also potent offensively, averaging 79.4 points per contest. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.

How to make 2024 NCAA bracket predictions

How far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella teams will make surprising runs through the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any NCAA bracket picks.

So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2024? And which March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 20 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 92 percent of players three of the last five tournaments.