Looking For Upsets In Your Brackets – Look Here For Help

Mark Bass returned to The Morning Line for the second straight day to talk about the 2021 brackets and places to look to find upsets.

Just a couple of notes about the brackets as you fill yours out to win your office pool.

* 13 of the last 20 years there has been a Big 10 team in the Final Four.
* 5 of the last 6 national champions did not win their conference tournament and were at large bids
* The overall number 1 team in the tournament has not won the national title since Louisville in 2013
* The last preseason favorite to win the tournament to actually cut down the nets was North Carolina in 2009
* It has been four years since a number 14 seed has upset a number 3 seed in the first round
* At least one 11 seed has reached the Sweet 16 in 8 of the last 10 tournaments played
* A double digit seed has reached the Sweet 16 in 7 of the last 10 tournaments played
* Everyone knows the 5 v 12 matchup is ripe for an upset, with sixteen 12 seeds winning in the forty matchups in the last decade
* But in 2018 all of the 5 seeds won, and 2019 followed up with a trio of 12 seeds winning
* In 30 of the last 35 years, the 12 seed has won at least one first round game. The only exceptions came in 1988, 2000, 2007, 2015 and 2018.
5 vs 12 History

* But did you know it is more likely to have an 11 seed upset a 6 seed? Since 2010 the 11 seeds have a 21-19 record against the number 6 seeds. Including winning 3 of the pairings in 2017, 2016, and 2011. In fact in the last decade only 2019 and 2013 didn't have at least two number 11 seeds winning in the first round.
6 vs 11 History

* Twenty-nine 13 seeds have upset 4 seeds since the NCAA tournament field expanded in 1985, giving them a 29-111 record all-time. That equates to a 20.71 winning percentage.
* But of those 29 wins by 13 seeds, it happened once in 2019, twice in 2018, and eight of them have been in the last decade
* 17 of those 29 wins by 13 seeds have happened since 2000
* Only once has a 4 seed won the national title and cut down the nets
* The last 13 seed to reach the Sweet 16 was in 2013 and done by Ohio...The Bobcats are a 13 seed again this season
4 vs 13 history
* You can pick Creighton to win in the first round, but don't send them any further than that because the Blue Jays are 0-8 in the round of 32 all-time

So who does Mark think could be primed to pull the upset from that 11, 12, 13 seeding? Listen back to it here and find out.

Then you can check out our contest and make your bracket selections here, good luck!