2021 NCAA tournament cheat sheet: Bracket tips, upsets picks and more

Neil Greenberg has crunched his numbers and come up with this year’s winning bracket.

The Post’s March Madness staff will be online Wednesday at 1 p.m. Eastern to answer all your questions about the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse, Michigan State and UCLA got into the tournament. Louisville did not. A look at the decisions made by the selection committee.

The longtime college basketball scribe looks at what the committee got right and, perhaps more importantly, what it got wrong.

The consolidation of the entire tournament within the state of Indiana could be a prove fortuitous for Midwestern teams and less so for others: Research has shown that traveling more than 150 miles from home reduced a team’s odds of winning by a third compared to teams that play in their home regions.

Looking for upsets? There are a few teams that received high seeds despite some red flags and could exit the tournament earlier than expected.

Picking the right upsets is the key to a successful bracket entry. Greenberg has your best bets for the first round.

The temptation to shock and delight your friends by advancing a No. 16 seed is understandable, but finding a viable one really is a fool’s errand.

Jerry Brewer writes that this year’s NCAA tournament will feel austere this year, more Big Gathering than Big Dance.

Looking for a high-scoring matchup? A contrast in styles? With 32 games over two days, it can be hard to get a grasp on which are worth your time. We’re here to help narrow things down.

As with most matters these days, it’s all because of the pandemic.

A number of teams were forced out of their conference tournaments because of the coronavirus. What happens if something similar happens in the NCAA tournament? And how will bracket contests handle the uncertainty?

The Bulldogs and Bears, two of this year’s favorites to win the tournament, hail from decidedly different locales.

The selection committee has pieced together the bracket, and even though the entire tournament will take place in Indiana this year, the field still is broken up by regions. We’ll start with the East Region.

12:15 p.m. (CBS): No. 5 Colorado (22-8) vs. No. 12 Georgetown (13-12)

12:45 p.m. (truTV): No. 4 Florida State (16-6) vs. No. 13 UNC Greensboro (21-8)

1:45 p.m. (TNT): No. 8 LSU (18-9) vs. No. 9 St. Bonaventure (16-4)

3 p.m. (CBS): No. 1 Michigan (20-4) vs. winner of No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s (12-10) vs. Texas Southern (16-8)

4 p.m. (TBS): No. 2 Alabama (24-6) vs. No. 15 Iona (12-5)

7:10 p.m. (CBS): No. 7 Connecticut (15-7) vs. No. 10 Maryland (16-13)

9:40 p.m. (CBS): No. 6 BYU (20-6) vs. winner of No. 11 Michigan State (15-12) vs. UCLA (17-9)

9:50 p.m. (truTV): No. 3 Texas (19-7) vs. No. 14 Abilene Christian (23-4)

Michigan State and UCLA will square off in a very blue-blooded First Four matchup on Thursday night, with the winner getting a BYU team that was one of the few to give No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga some trouble this season. Connecticut finished the regular season ranked 16th in Ken Pomeroy’s statistical rankings but garnered only a No. 7 seed from the selection committee. St. Bonaventure, which won its three Atlantic 10 tournament games by an average of 14.3 points, could be a sneaky Sweet 16 pick.

12:15 p.m. (CBS): No. 7 Florida (14-9) vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech (15-6)

12:45 p.m. (truTV): No. 3 Arkansas (22-6) vs. No. 14 Colgate (14-1)

1:45 p.m. (TNT): No. 6 Texas Tech (17-10) vs. No. 11 Utah State (20-8)

3 p.m. (CBS): No. 2 Ohio State (21-9) vs. No. 15 Oral Roberts (16-10)

3:30 p.m. (truTV): No. 1 Baylor (22-2) vs. No. 16 Hartford (15-8)

7:10 p.m. (CBS): No. 8 North Carolina (18-10) vs. No. 9 Wisconsin (17-12)

7:25 p.m. (TNT): No. 4 Purdue (18-9) vs. No. 13 North Texas (17-9)

9:57 p.m. (TNT): No. 5 Villanova (16-6) vs. No. 12 Winthrop (23-1)

Like scoring? Then Arkansas-Colgate is the game for you. The Razorbacks ranked seventh nationally in points per game (82.4) while the Raiders ranked second (86.4). The oddsmakers have set an over-under total of 158.5 as of this writing, the highest of the first-round matchups. Villanova limps into its meeting with Winthrop, with starting point guard Collin Gillespie out for the year with a torn ACL suffered late in the regular season and starting guard Justin Moore dealing with a severely sprained ankle that kept him out of the Big East tournament. Speedy Winthrop will be a popular upset pick.

1:15 p.m. (TBS): No. 1 Illinois (23-6) vs. No. 16 Drexel (12-7)

4 p.m. (TBS): No. 8 Loyola Chicago (24-4) vs. No. 9 Georgia Tech (17-8)

4:30 p.m. (TNT): No. 5 Tennessee (18-8) vs. No. 12 Oregon State (17-12)

6:25 p.m. (TBS): No. 4 Oklahoma State (20-8) vs. No. 13 Liberty (23-5)

7:15 p.m. (truTV): No. 2 Houston (24-3) vs. No. 15 Cleveland State (19-7)

9:20 p.m. (TBS): No. 7 Clemson (16-7) vs. No. 10 Rutgers (15-11)

9:40 p.m. (CBS): No. 6 San Diego State (23-4) vs. No. 11 Syracuse (16-9)

9:50 p.m. (truTV): No. 3 West Virginia (18-9) vs. No. 14 Morehead State (23-7)

A second-round matchup between Illinois and Loyola Chicago would be a pretty tasty in-state battle. The Illini and Ramblers haven’t played since 2011, with Loyola last beating Illinois in 1986. The Ramblers, who finished ninth nationally in Pomeroy’s final statistical rankings and ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency, also did not get much love from the selection committee as a No. 8 seed. Oklahoma State vs. Liberty presents a battle of contrasts, with the Cowboys operating at one of the tournament’s fastest paces and the Flames one of the slowest.

1:15 p.m. (TBS): No. 3 Kansas (20-8) vs. No. 14 Eastern Washington (16-7)

3:30 p.m. (truTV): No. 5 Creighton (20-8) vs. No. 12 UC Santa Barbara (22-4)

4:30 p.m. (TNT): No. 6 Southern Cal (22-7) vs. winner of No. 11 Wichita State (16-5) vs. Drake (25-4)

6:25 p.m. (TBS): No. 2 Iowa (21-8) vs. No. 15 Grand Canyon (17-6)

7:15 p.m. (truTV): No. 4 Virginia (18-6) vs. No. 13 Ohio (16-7)

7:25 p.m. (TNT): No. 8 Oklahoma (15-10) vs. No. 9 Missouri (16-9)

9:20 p.m. (TBS): No. 1 Gonzaga vs. winner of No. 16 Norfolk State (16-7) vs. Appalachian State (17-11)

9:57 p.m. (TNT): No. 7 Oregon (20-6) vs. No. 10 VCU (19-7)

Kansas had to bow out of the Big 12 tournament because of coronavirus concerns and — assuming the Jayhawks can get past a quick-paced Eastern Washington team that has one loss since Jan. 23 — could have some second-round trouble with a USC squad that probably deserved a higher seed after finishing the season ranked 14th nationally in Pomeroy’s rankings. Coronavirus also sent Virginia home early from the ACC tournament and now the Cavaliers open with Ohio, which took No. 1 seed Illinois to the wire in December before falling by two points.