March Madness Final Four Predictions & Sleeper Picks (2022 NCAA Tournament)

March Madness is back! With Selection Sunday in the rearview, our featured analysts are ready to try their hand at predicting which schools are primed to make it to the Final Four and which team is poised for a Cinderella run. Read all the way through to see who many other analysts are also picking to make the Final Four and take home the title! Also, try your luck in our free bracket contest for a chance to win some amazing prizes!

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Q1. Who are your picks for the Final Four and why?

West: Duke (2) | East: Kentucky (2) | South: Tennessee (3) | Midwest: Auburn (2)
“Duke, Kentucky, Auburn and Tennessee are my picks to reach the Final Four. Duke has way too much star power to leave out of my Final Four. The Blue Devils have four players projected to go in the first round of the NBA Draft, including 6’10” freshmen sensation Paolo Banchero, who’s averaging a robust 17.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.0 three-pointers and 0.9 blocks while shooting 47.4 percent from the field through 34 games this season. With Mike Krzyzewski retiring after this season, you can bet the Duke players will do whatever it takes to send their Hall of Fame coach out a winner. The Kentucky Wildcats boast one of the most talented teams in the nation, led by future NBA first-round picks TyTy Washington, Shaedon Sharpe, and Oscar Tshiebwe. Tshiebwe is a rebounding machine, averaging a nation-leading 15.2 rebounds (5.3 offensive rebounds), and you can bet the 22-year-old will gobble up all the missed shots on both ends of the floor. Auburn possesses the most talented and vaunted frontcourt duos in the country in freshmen Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, with both expected to be lottery picks come June. Smith has contributed elite numbers across the board, averaging 17.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 three-pointers, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks through 32 games this season. Kessler ranks second in the nation with 4.5 blocks per game. Tennessee is in a very winnable region, facing either Michigan or Colorado State after the first round, followed by a potential rematch against No. 2 Villanova before facing No. 1 Arizona, whom they already beat.”
– Jacob W. Dunne (Triple Play Fantasy)

West: Gonzaga (1) | East: Purdue (3) | South: Villanova (2) | Midwest: Kansas (1)
“I’m choosing Gonzaga, Purdue, Villanova and Kansas. For being the No. 1 overall seed, Gonzaga doesn’t have an easy path, but Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren are good enough to overcome that. It seems I always get burned picking Kansas, but the Jayhawks feature Ochai Agbaji and they have arguably the strongest core in the tournament. Purdue got a good draw, but also has strong perimeter play (Jaden Ivey is a potential lottery pick) and perhaps the best equalizer in the country in 7’4″ Zach Edey. As for Villanova, Jay Wright’s club went 10-1 down the stretch to win the Big East Tournament and there may not be a hotter team in the country.”
– Jason Kamlowsky (FantasyPros)

West: Gonzaga (1) | East: UCLA (4) | South: Arizona (1) | Midwest: Kansas (1)
“My Final Four picks this year are Arizona, Kansas, Gonzaga and UCLA. Arizona has been dubbed as the ‘most aesthetically pleasing team’ in college basketball this season. While the Wildcats may be fun to watch, they are also supremely loaded and drew a very manageable path in the South Region. The Midwest is by far the worst region in this year’s bracket, which thus sets up No. 1 seed Kansas for a deep tournament run. In the West, it’s hard to dismiss either No. 2 seed Duke or No. 3 seed Texas Tech. Look for the Zags to win a thrilling Elite 8 game over the Red Raiders. On the heels of a Final Four run last season, UCLA is being overlooked and disrespected in a loaded East Region. With virtually every key piece returning from last year’s team, don’t sleep on the Bruins.”
– Henry John (FlurrySports)

West: Texas Tech (3) | East: Kentucky (2) | South: Arizona (1) | Midwest: Wisconsin (3)
“Texas Tech plays a physical brand of defense that’s going to frustrate some of the high-scoring teams in their way. As for Kentucky, this Wildcats team is unlike many past John Calipari teams because they’re not just a bunch of talented freshmen. They’re a team that’s playing extremely well together. Wisconsin is in the bracket with the weakest No. 1 and No. 2 seed, in my opinion. They’re also a good rebounding team, especially on the offensive glass, and they hit their free throws. Arizona can also score with the best teams in the country, and this region looks really upset-heavy, which could help pave their way.”
– Mike Wagenman (BettingPros)

Q2. What Cinderella team do you think has the best chance of making it deep in the tournament and why?

South: UAB (12)
“The University of Alabama at Birmingham defeated Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Championship to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. Their star player, Jordan Walker, is the nation’s 14th leading scorer at 20.4 points per game while sinking the second-most three-pointers (115). The 22-year-old is shooting a superb 40.6% from three-point range on a team ranked ninth in the nation in three-point percentage (38.3%). If Walker’s elite scoring can vault No. 12 ranked UAB past No. 5 Houston, then it’s potentially smooth sailing until the Blazers face Tennessee in the Elite Eight.”
– Jacob W. Dunne (Triple Play Fantasy)

“As a 12-seed, UAB makes almost too much sense and the Blazers have a lot going for them. First, they are deep and experienced with all five starters being transfer upperclassmen. They are led by Jordan ‘Jelly’ Walker, who went off in the Conference USA Tournament, scoring 40 points in a semifinal win, and followed that up with 27 points in the championship. UAB averaged almost 10 steals per game, making them a tough matchup defensively at a time of year where getting stops in big moments matters. Give me ‘Jelly Time’ to light it up and the Blazers to get to the Round of 16 — and maybe more.”
– Jason Kamlowsky (FantasyPros)

Midwest: South Dakota St. (13)
“The South Dakota St. Jackrabbits were a perfect 18-0 in the Summit League, one of the best mid-major conferences in college basketball, and they had 30 wins overall on the year. They’re the second-highest scoring team in the country and they’ve got a really favorable first-round matchup against an overrated Providence team. As a 13-seed, SDSU opened up as just 2.5-point underdogs, so they’re more than capable of gaining momentum in the opening round and riding that through the rest of the dance.”
– Mike Wagenman (BettingPros)

East: San Francisco (10)
“One team that is worth monitoring closely is No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s in the East Region. Given that selecting a fifth seed as a Cinderella would be marginal, I will instead pivot to the Gaels’ West Coast Conference cohort, San Francisco. Seeded 10th in the East, the Dons actually drew a fellow mid-major in Murray State for their first-round game. Quality guard play has been the crux of so many March Madness Cinderella runs in the past. In Jamaree Bouyea and Khalil Shabazz, San Francisco has a stellar backcourt to lean on. While the Dons do not get much offensive production out of their bigs, the interior defense is solid enough to give Kentucky a real test in the second round. USF is ranked 21st overall in the KenPom ratings and could very well emerge as this year’s Cinderella story.”
– Henry John (FlurrySports)

Final Four & Championship Picks from Other Experts:

* Links provided to picks and reasoning from each respective expert.

_{Top-voted teams for each region: West: Gonzaga, East: Kentucky, South: Arizona, Midwest: Kansas}

Your 2022 Consensus Predicted NCAA Champion: Gonzaga!

Thank you to the experts for their March Madness predictions. Please give them a follow on Twitter for more advice.