March Madness 2019 Predictions: Expert Final Four Picks For College Basketball Tournament

Zion Williamson Coby White — Coby White #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives to the basket against Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils during their game in the semifinals of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 15, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

This won’t be the year of shocking upsets beyond the first weekend of March Madness, at least not according to the experts. Most college basketball writers and analysts are picking the top seeds to reach the Final Four of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Good luck finding someone that leaves Duke out of their Final Four. A handful of predictions have Michigan State ousting the Blue Devils in the Elite Eight, but just about everyone seems to have the No.1 overall seed winning the East region.

Duke is, not surprisingly, the most popular pick to win the national championship. After Zion Williamson was virtually unstoppable in the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils are the heavy favorites in the 68-team field.

No.1 Gonzaga has some competition from No.2 Michigan in the West. A few experts are also picking Texas Tech to win the region.

Only Duke is ranked ahead of No.1 Virginia overall, but the Cavaliers still have a large share of skeptics. A year after they became the first team ever to lose to a No.16 seed, Virginia is being picked by many experts to fall short of reaching the Final Four. No.2 Tennessee is a popular pick in the South region.

In the Midwest, it’s expected to come down to either No.1 North Carolina or No.2 Kentucky. The Tar Heels are getting a decent amount of support for a national championship run. North Carolina has two wins over Duke, though both victories came when Williamson was hurt.

Here are some expert Final Four picks for the 2019 NCAA Tournament:

Gary Parrish, CBS Sports (Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, North Carolina)

Matt Norlander, CBS Sports (Michigan State, Gonzaga, Virginia, North Carolina)

Jerry Palm, CBS Sports (Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Kentucky)

Chip Patterson, CBS Sports (Duke, Texas Tech, Villanova, Kentucky)

Dick Vitale, ESPN (Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Kentucky)

Jay Williams, ESPN (Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Kentucky)

Seth Greenberg, ESPN (Duke, Texas Tech, Virginia, Kentucky)

Jay Bilas, ESPN (Duke, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina)

Michael Beller, Sports Illustrated (Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina)

Dan Greene, Sports Illustrated (Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina)

Molly Geary, Sports Illustrated (Duke, Gonzaga, Tennessee, North Carolina)