Deep runs in the 2021 NCAA Tournament can provide national exposure to players who casual fans may have overlooked during the regular season. Often, these players have unique names that can stick with us for years. Who can forget Kevin Pittsnogle of West Virginia? Or how about Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh and his dagger three-pointer against Kansas? There's another one of those names making its mark on the 2021 NCAA bracket, Max Abmas of No. 15 Oral Roberts.
Abmas leads the NCAA with 24.6 points per game and has poured in 55 through two 2021 March Madness games. He has Oral Roberts in its second Sweet 16 in program history and it will do battle with No. 3 Arkansas. In the 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket, the Golden Eagles have already knocked off a top-three seed in Ohio State and an SEC team in Florida, but can they repeat both of those feats when they take on the Razorbacks? Before locking in your 2021 March Madness predictions, be sure to check out the 2021 NCAA bracket picks from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of $2,200 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen massive returns.
This same model produced brackets that beat nearly 90 percent of all CBS Sports brackets one year after finishing in the top five percent. The model also nailed 14 teams in the Sweet 16 last time, and has called 15 of the 26 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds the last four tournaments. In a topsy-turvy 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket, the model entered the Sweet 16 with all of its Final Four teams intact.
There's simply no reason to rely on luck when there's proven technology to help you dominate your 2021 March Madness picks. Now, the model has simulated every possible matchup for the remainder of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and revealed its updated bracket. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Top 2021 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 picks
One team to back in 2021 March Madness brackets: No. 3 seed Arkansas sends No. 15 seed Oral Roberts home. Led by Max Abmas, the nation's leading scorer (24.6 points per game), the Eagles upset No. 2 seed Ohio State and came back against No. 7 Florida to become just the second 15-seed in NCAA Tournament history to make the Sweet 16. However, now Abmas and the rest of Oral Roberts' shooters will be tested by far and away the best defense they've faced thus far.
Arkansas ranks 11th in adjusted defensive efficiency, while Ohio State ranked 77th and Florida was 39th. In the Razorbacks' first two NCAA Tournament games, they held Colgate to just 39.7 percent shooting and limited Texas Tech to just 36.1. Arkansas' defense already has the blueprint for slowing down the Eagles after limiting them to 39.1 percent shooting and 27.6 percent from the three-point line during an 87-76 win on Dec. 20. That's a big reason why the model has Arkansas advancing in well over 80 percent of simulations.
Another team to back in your 2021 NCAA Tournament picks: No. 1 seed Baylor cruises to the Elite Eight with a win over No. 5 seed Villanova. In their second round against Wisconsin, the Bears rediscovered what led them to a 17-0 start to the season, their outside shot. They made 47.1 percent of their three-point shots against a Wisconsin team that ranked 16th in the nation in defensive efficiency.
While Villanova has championship experience, it simply lacks the firepower to stick with Baylor's offense. The Wildcats had an easy path to the Sweet 16 with wins over a 12-seed and 13-seed, but the absence of Big East Player of the Year Collin Gillespie (knee) will limit what Jay Wright can draw up offensively. On the other end of the court, Villanova has struggled defending the three-point shot, as it allows a 34.9 percentage from beyond the arc, which ranks last among Sweet 16 teams.
How to make 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions
SportsLine's model also has one region where you need to pick the No. 2 seed, and has identified an underdog that pulls off a shocking upset in the Sweet 16. Nailing those picks could literally make or break your bracket. With the model's proven track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you'll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any bracket picks.
So what's the optimal NCAA Tournament 2021 bracket? And which underdogs shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that's nailed 15 of the 26 double-digit seed upsets the past four years and entered the Sweet 16 with all of its Final Four teams intact.
