Last year, Illinois entered the NCAA Tournament bracket as the top seed in the Midwest region with an average offensive output of 80.5 points on 41.1 two-point attempts per game. The Illini were eliminated in the Sweet 16 after 8-seed Loyola-Chicago slowed their pace and held them to just 35 two-pointers and kept them from recovering with threes. Ahead of Thursday's start of the 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket, which March Madness 2022 Cinderella teams can keep the heavyweights at bay?

College basketball fans will be eagerly watching to see if a lower-seeded program can push the four top seeds of Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor or Kansas out of their comfort zone in the 2022 NCAA basketball tournament. That will almost certainly happen at some point in the NCAA Tournament 2022 since all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four just once in the history of March Madness (2008). 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. 

Their proven projection model has simulated every game in the tournament 10,000 times. It absolutely crushed its March Madness picks last tournament, beating over 92 percent of all CBS Sports brackets for the second time in three years. 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 pools. Now, with the 2022 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.

2022 March Madness upset picks, Cinderella teams

One of the model's 2022 NCAA Tournament upset picks: No. 6 Alabama loses to No. 11 Notre Dame. The Crimson Tide are already limping into the NCAA Tournament 2022 after three disappointing losses and couldn't have picked a worse time to be looking for answers.

A staggering 48 percent of Alabama's field goal attempts have been three-pointers, but they have made just over 27.5 percent of them in those three recent defeats. Their struggles could be amplified against the Irish, as Notre Dame has held opponents to just 31.9 percent from beyond the arc this season. Making matters worse for the Tide is their top three-point shooter, Jaden Shackelford (35.6 percent), has only made 29.4 percent of his threes over his last three starts.

The model also has another bold prediction, calling for an early exit for the Duke Blue Devils in head coach Mike Krzyzewski's final NCAA bracket. This game will be a matchup of strengths, but Texas Tech's is better than Duke's. The Blue Devils have the seventh-best offense this year in terms of efficiency. However, Texas Tech's defensive efficiency is not only the best in the country, but it also ranks as the fifth-best defense over the last 20 years.

The Red Raiders are built for the modern game, as their top seven players are all between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8. They are also all upperclassmen, while Duke is extremely young, with 2022 being the March Madness debut for its top six scorers. The model has Coach K reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the 26th time in his career, but it also has the Hall of Famer bowing out against the Red Raiders. Get all the upsets here.

How to make 2022 NCAA bracket predictions

SportsLine's bracket features a No. 11 seed and No. 5 seed in the Final Four, plus a region where the No. 12 and No. 10 seeds are a must-back. With the model's track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you'll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any NCAA bracket picks.

So what's the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2022? And which March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that's nailed 17 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 92 percent of players two of the last three tournaments.