The 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket includes nine teams from the Big Ten, but no school from the nation’s deepest conference earned a 1- or 2-seed. Purdue and Wisconsin are the two highest-seeded Big Ten teams, with Purdue at No. 3 in the East and Wisconsin at No. 3 seed in the Midwest. Iowa is a No. 5 seed in the Midwest despite winning the conference tournament, but should you back the Big Ten for a deep run in your 2022 March Madness bracket?
Only two Big Ten teams have made the Final Four in the last five NCAA Tournaments, while the ACC leads all representatives with four teams making the Final Four during that span. It was a down year for the ACC, but Duke earned a No. 2 seed in head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season and could be a popular Final Four pick in NCAA Tournament 2022 pools. Before making any 2022 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulated the entire 2022 NCAA Tournament 10,000 times. It absolutely crushed its March Madness picks last year, beating over 92 percent of all CBS Sports brackets for the second time in three tournaments. The model also nailed a whopping three teams in the Final Four last year.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 17 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. It also nailed some massive upsets last tournament, including predicting the championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor, and hit Houston’s Midwest Region win even though the Cougars weren’t the No. 1 seed.
There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2022 March Madness picks. Now, with the 2022 NCAA bracket revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Three 2022 March Madness bracket games to watch
One of the most intriguing 2022 March Madness matchups to watch: No. 5 seed Connecticut vs. No. 12 seed New Mexico State in the West region. R.J. Cole and Adama Sanogo earned first-team All-Big East honors and give UConn a dynamic inside-outside scoring combo with Tyrese Martin. New Mexico State’s defense has been stingy of late, allowing opponents to shoot just 36.4 percent from the floor and 26.9 percent from the three-point line over the last three games.
One 2022 March Madness matchup to keep an eye on: No. 8 Boise State vs. No. 9 Memphis in the West Region. The Tigers have had an up-and-down season, starting the year 9-8 but winning 12 of their last 14 games despite losing superstar freshman Emoni Bates. The Tigers have another high-profile freshman, Jalen Duren, who is averaging 12.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting 62.6 percent from the floor. Boise State also rallied after a slow start (3-4), winning 20 of its final 23 games to win the Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles.
Another West Region matchup that stands out is No. 7 seed Michigan State vs. No. 10 seed Davidson. Michigan State played the tougher schedule in the Big Ten and went 7-10 against NCAA Tournament 2022 teams. Meanwhile, Davidson only played five games against fellow NCAA bracket teams but went 3-2 in those contests. The Wildcats play slowly (304th in the nation in adjusted tempo) but efficiently (11th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency). You can see the model’s picks for these games and every other here.
How to make 2022 NCAA bracket predictions
Who wins every tournament-defining matchup? And which teams will make surprising runs through the 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it’s calling this year before locking in any 2022 NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2022 bracket? And which NCAA Tournament Cinderella teams will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which double-digit seeds you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s called 17 upsets by double-digit seeds.