Duke is the pre-tournament favorite for a second straight year and the 10th time overall, tying North Carolina for the most tournaments as the favorite since 1979, according to ESPN Research. The pre-tournament favorite has won eight of the last 20 tournaments.
Bennett Stirtz and Ben McCollum are now 14-3 in win-or-go-home games over their four-year tenure together. That kind of experience matters in a neutral-site tournament setting. This matchup is tight from a seeding standpoint, and either team could win. The edge goes to Iowa based on momentum and their coaching staff's track record in elimination games.
St. John's and UConn have been far and away the two best teams in the Big East this season. The Red Storm and Huskies combined to go 35-5 in conference play. St. John's suffered a single loss, which came at the hands of UConn, since January 6. UConn stumbled a bit in February with three losses, but it also held St. John's to 40 points on February 25.
A roster featuring MLB stars Nolan Arenado, Edwin Diaz and Seth Lugo was enough to give Puerto Rico the nod over an emerging Canada squad in the eyes of our voters -- and the vast majority of our experts predicted that both countries would move on to the quarterfinals.
