2018 NCAA Tournament Picks: West Region Odds, Predictions and Bracketology Projections

2018 NCAA Tournament Picks – West Region Odds, Predictions and Bracketology Projections: When I look at the West Region of the NCAA Tournament Bracket, I don’t see a national championship frontrunner. I see a lot of flawed teams who can be wildly inconsistent from one game to the next, and if any region is going to have complete chaos, I think it’s this one. Appropriately, the West was also the region with the weakest No. 1 seed according to the selection committee, and the West Region of the NCAA Tournament Bracket could end up being wide open. Check out a complete breakdown of the region.

2018 NCAA Tournament Picks: West Region Odds, Predictions and Bracketology Projections

NCAA West Bracket Favorites to Make the Final Four

North Carolina: Yes, they lost in the finals of the ACC tournament, but the Tarheels have managed to reload and are capable of making a third straight run to the national title game. As is usually the case with any Roy Williams team, North Carolina owns one of the most potent offenses, and the Tar Heels will kill opponents on the glass. In fact, they are leading the country in rebounding. A leaky perimeter defense is a concern, but few teams can match North Carolina’s overall talent and athleticism.

Michigan: Is there a hotter team in the country right now? The Wolverines have won 11 straight games, taking down Purdue and Michigan State on their way to a Big Ten tournament crown. Michigan has plenty of perimeter firepower, and the Wolverines also have a budding star in stretch-forward Moritz Wagner. Momentum is a powerful thing heading into March Madness, especially for a team that is capable of lighting it up from beyond the arc.

NCAA West Bracket Upset Specials

San Diego State over Houston: This game looks like a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair. Houston has leaned on its defense all year, and San Diego State has stepped it up on that end down the stretch on its way to nine straight wins and a conference tournament crown. Senior forward Malik Pope has also been locked in for SDSU, and he is now shooting 52.1 percent on the year. The Cougars just don’t scare anyone offensively, and I like the streaking Aztecs to keep the momentum going.

South Dakota State over Ohio State: The Buckeyes overachieved this season, and they have a versatile weapon in Keita Bates-Diop who can take over a game. However, they had an uneven 2-3 finish to the season, and they have slipped a bit on the defensive end in recent weeks. Enter the Jackrabbits, who have one of the most complete offensive weapons in the country in forward Matt Daum and a dangerous 3-point attack. I’m not sure Ohio State can right the ship.

NCAA West Bracket High Seed on Alert

Xavier: Relying on a high-powered offense, the Musketeers took home the Big East regular season title and grabbed a No. 1 seed. Trevon Bluiett leads an attack that is averaging 84.0 points per game, but the Musketeers can be a lackluster team on the defensive end. More concerning, they were blow out twice when facing another elite offensive team, the Villanova Wildcats. This also tends to be a program that is better as an underdog than a frontrunner, and I hate the fact that Missouri and recently returned NBA lottery talent Michael Porter Jr. could be waiting in the Round of 32.

NCAA West Bracket PREDICTION: North Carolina Tar Heels

You can get expert 2018 NCAA Tournament picks and 2018 NCAA Tournament predictions this month from NSAwins.com’s top handicappers plus a pre-filled downloadable and printable 2018 NCAA Tournament Bracket to help you win your office pool!