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Who the experts think will win the NCAA Tournament

Cork Gaines   

Who the experts think will win the NCAA Tournament

Roy Williams and Tom Izzo

Mike Carter/USA Today Sports

A lot of experts are picking North Carolina and Michigan State to reach the Final Four.

We took a look at the NCAA Tournament Final Four picks made by college basketball experts, and most are picking Michigan State or Kansas to win it all.

Of the 53 sets of Final Four picks we have collected, 28 (53%) have Michigan State winning the championship, and a whopping 50 (94%) have the Spartans in the Final Four. The other teams being picked to win it all are Kansas (34%), North Carolina (8%), Oklahoma (4%), and Kentucky (2%).

Fifteen schools were picked to make the Final Four by at least one of these experts, but the most common Final Four picks were Michigan State, Kansas (83%), Oklahoma (68%), North Carolina (49%), and Kentucky (26%). No. 1 seeds Oregon and Virginia are picked to reach the Final Four in just 17% and 4% of the brackets, respectively.

Here are the Final Four picks of 53 experts from SI.com, ESPN.com, and CBSSports.com. Each expert's pick to win the championship is in bold:

  • Seth Davis, SI: Kansas, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Michigan State.
  • Pete Thamel, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Brian Hamilton, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Lindsay Schnell, SI: Kansas, Oregon, West Virginia, Michigan State.
  • Zac Ellis, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Luke Winn, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • David Gardner, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Ted Keith, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Dan Greene, SI: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Ryan Krasnoo, SI: Miami, Oklahoma, Xavier, Michigan State.
  • Cory Alexander, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Virginia.
  • Jay Bilas, ESPN: Kansas, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Jeff Borzello, ESPN: Maryland, Oregon, Xavier, Michigan State.
  • Eamonn Brennan, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Jordan Brenner, ESPN: Miami, Oklahoma, Indiana, Michigan State.
  • C.L. Brown, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Jason Capel, ESPN: Kansas, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Dan Dakich, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Andrew DeClercq, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • LaPhonso Ellis, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Sean Farnham, ESPN: Villanova, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Adam Finkelstein, ESPN: Kansas, Oregon, Xavier, Michigan State.
  • Dino Gaudio, ESPN: Kansas, Texas A&M, Xavier, Michigan State.
  • John Gasaway, ESPN: Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Jeff Goodman, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Sean Harrington, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Malcolm Huckaby, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Michigan State.
  • Andy Katz, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Peter Keating, ESPN: Miami, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Joe Lunardi, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Bryndon Manzer, ESPN: Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Myron Medcalf, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Michigan State.
  • Dana O'Neil, ESPN: Villanova, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Reggie Rankin, ESPN: Kansas, Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Craig Robinson, ESPN: Maryland, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Chris Spatola, ESPN: Kansas, Texas A&M, Xavier, Michigan State.
  • Dick Vitale, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Kara Lawson, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Paul Biancardi, ESPN: Miami, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Miles Simon, ESPN: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Fran Fraschilla, ESPN: Kansas, Oregon, West Virginia, Michigan State.
  • Jerry Palm, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Gary Parrish, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Sam Vecenie, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Virginia.
  • Matt Norlander, CBS Sports: Villanova, Oklahoma, Xavier, Michigan State.
  • Nick Kostos, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Chip Patterson, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports: Kansas, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Michigan State.
  • Josh Nagel, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Purdue.
  • Wally Szczerbiak, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Pete Gillen, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Michigan State.
  • Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports: Kansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Michigan State.
  • Danny Granger, CBS Sports: Kansas, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Michigan State.

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