NCAA Tournament

Who will make it to the Final Four? More than 30 experts give us their NCAA predictions.

Oscar Tshiebwe and Kentucky will be hoping for the Wildcats’ first national title since 2012.
Oscar Tshiebwe and Kentucky will be hoping for the Wildcats’ first national title since 2012. rhermens@herald-leader.com

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Men’s NCAA Tournament: Previewing Kentucky vs. Saint Peter’s

Click below to view more content from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com previewing Kentucky’s men’s basketball matchup against Saint Peter’s on Thursday night in the NCAA East Regional at Indianapolis.

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Is this the year that the Kentucky Wildcats win their first NCAA championship in a decade? Or will it be a college basketball season that ends with the first title for heavily favored Gonzaga? Perhaps Arizona or Kansas can go all the way, or maybe Baylor will be the back-to-back champions?

The NCAA Tournament bracket will get sorted out over the next three weeks of March Madness.

Before the games get played, the Herald-Leader asked dozens of college basketball experts near and far for their Final Four predictions and national title picks. UK was a popular team for those inside and outside of the state, but the projections this year varied, with a half-dozen teams picked as possible national champs.

Here are the results:

John Clay, Herald-Leader: Gonzaga, Baylor, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Kansas

Mark Story, Herald-Leader: Gonzaga, UCLA, Arizona, Iowa

Title game: Gonzaga over Arizona

Ben Roberts, Herald-Leader: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Kansas

Rick Bozich, WDRB: Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: Arizona over Duke

Jeff Drummond, Cats Illustrated: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin

Title game: Gonzaga over Arizona

Dick Gabriel, Big Blue Insider: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas.

Title game: Gonzaga over Arizona

John Hale, Courier Journal: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Tennessee

Lee K. Howard, WKYT: Texas Tech, Kentucky, Arizona, Auburn

Title game: Kentucky over Auburn

Matt Jones, Kentucky Sports Radio: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Iowa

Title game: Kentucky over Arizona

Mark Mathis, Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Iowa

Title game: Arizona over Gonzaga

Tim Sullivan, Courier Journal: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Iowa

Title game: Arizona over Gonzaga

Tyler Thompson, Kentucky Sports Radio: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: Kentucky over Arizona

Kyle Tucker, The Athletic: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Kentucky over Kansas

Larry Vaught, VaughtsViews: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Villanova, Iowa

Title game: Kentucky over Villanova

Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa

Title game: Tennessee over Gonzaga

Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times: Gonzaga, UCLA, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: UCLA over Arizona

Jeff Borzello, ESPN: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona , Iowa

Title game: Arizona over Kentucky

Mark Bradley, AJC: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Kansas over Kentucky

Travis Branham, 247Sports: Gonzaga, UCLA, Villanova, Auburn

Title game: Gonzaga over Villanova

Jerry Brewer, Washington Post: Gonzaga, Purdue, Arizona, Iowa

Title game: Arizona over Gonzaga

Rob Cassidy, Rivals.com: Texas Tech, UCLA, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: Kansas over UCLA

Drew Davison, Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Texas Tech, Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin

Title game: Arizona over Kentucky

Luke DeCock, Raleigh News & Observer: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Houston, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Kansas

Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News: Gonzaga, Purdue, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: Arizona over Gonzaga

Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star: Gonzaga, Purdue, Villanova, Iowa

Title game: Purdue over Iowa

Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer: Gonzaga, Purdue, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Kansas

Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Arizona

Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas

Title game: Gonzaga over Kansas

Gary Parrish, CBS Sports: Gonzaga, UCLA, Arizona, Auburn

Title game: Gonzaga over Arizona

Krysten Peek, Yahoo Sports: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Tennessee, Iowa

Title game: Gonzaga over Iowa

Mike Waters, Syracuse Post-Standard: Gonzaga, Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas

Title game: Arizona over Kentucky

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This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Who will make it to the Final Four? More than 30 experts give us their NCAA predictions.."

Ben Roberts
Lexington Herald-Leader
Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006. Support my work with a digital subscription
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Men’s NCAA Tournament: Previewing Kentucky vs. Saint Peter’s

Click below to view more content from the Lexington Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com previewing Kentucky’s men’s basketball matchup against Saint Peter’s on Thursday night in the NCAA East Regional at Indianapolis.