NCAA Tournament No. 1 and 2 Seeds West and East Region Profiles

The defending national champs Connecticut Huskies won the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. Now the Huskies are a powerhouse returning to defend their title as the No. 1 overall seed for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. March Madness brackets will be filled with UCONN as champions, and millions of sports and basketball fans are filling out their brackets and making picks in pools while more serious sports bettors are breaking down the tournament matchups and review stats including those I've provided below. 

March Madness tournament betting at leading online sportsbooks is most popular for the opening weekend games with wall-to-wall basketball as teams shoot for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. 

There are some fundamental keys to NCAA Tournament success as you evaluate the match-ups and stats prior to and during the tournament. As you break down the brackets and match-ups, futures odds and BetOnline each round of the NCAA Tournament, here are some team profiles, stats and odds outlook to track as the top teams advance through the NCAA Tournament. 

The biggest sporting event of the year offers so many action-packed games throughout the tournament, and especially opening weekend. The top teams and seeds will be most popular picks in NCAA Tournament brackets and pools, and I've chipped in some profiles of those teams from the East and West Regions.

Also, check out the top teams No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and profiles from the South and Midwest Regions as posted here at OSGA. 

NET ranking: takes into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. 

Be sure to get in and enter the Offshore Gaming Association's 2024 March Madness Bracket Challenge. Now in it's 22nd year at OSGA, it's free to enter and pays out cash prizes. Many leading online sportsbooks are offering bracket contests with huge cash prizes and additional prizes.  

Key stats to picking an NCAA Tournament champion

When evaluating the KenPom stats, know that 20 of the last 21 National Champions have finished in the Top 20 in both offensive and defensive adjusted efficiency. This year's teams include: 

- Connecticu (1,11 off/def)
- Houston (17,2)
- Auburn (10,5)
- Arizona (8,12) 

Close: 

- Purdue (3,21)
- Marquette (21,19)
- Tennessee (28,3)
- North Carolina (24,6)
- Duke (7,26)
- Creighton (12,24) 

No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds East Region

No. 1 Connecticut 

Record: 31-3
Key Wins:
Key Losses: 
National Title Odds: +450
Final Four Odds: -110
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 34
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 1, Defense No. 11
Twitter: @UConnMBB
Head Coach: Dan Hurley

Connecticut won the Big East regular season and conference tournament titles to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. UCONN's NET ranking is No. 2, and the Huskies went 13-3 vs. Quad 1 opponents and 8-0 vs. Quad 2. The Huskies strong shooting included No. 6 in both effective FG% and 2-point shooting percentage. UCONN led the Big East in scoring offense (83.7 PPG), scoring defense (61.4), FG shooting (50.8%), FG defense (38.5%), 3-point shooting (39.1%) and 3-point defense (27.1%), rebounding margin (+9.9), team rebounds, blocked shots, assists and assist/TO ratio. 

No. 2 Iowa State

Record: 27-7
Key Wins: BYU, at UCF, Texas Tech, at Cincinnati, at Texas, Kansas, at TCU, Baylor, Houston (2x)
Key Losses: at Kansas State, at Houston, at Baylor, at BYU, at Oklahoma, Texas A&M
National Title Odds: +1800
Final Four Odds: +400
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 36
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 55, Defense No. 1
Twitter: @CycloneMBB
Head Coach: T.J. Otzelberger 

Iowa State finished second behind Houson in the Big 12 regular season, and then the Cyclones beat the Cougars in the conference championship game to win the Big 12 tournament. Iowa State's NET ranking is No. 6 and the Cyclones went 10-6 vs. Quad 1 opponents and 6-1 vs. Quad 2. The Cyclones scored 75.6 points per game but just 68.2 in Big 12 play to rank 13th in the conference. Iowa State's No. 1 ranked efficiency defense passed No. 2 Houston as tops in the nation after beating the Cougars in the Big 12 title game. Iowa State allowed 61.2 PPP and 40.0% FG. The Cyclones 69.7% FT shooting is poor, as is their rebounding margin of +0.9 which ranked 12th in the Big 12. A top-3 conference turnover margin and assist/TO ratio plus league high steals of 10.4 per game completes the stats profile. 

No. 1 and No. 2 Seeds West Region

No. 1 North Carolina 

Record: 27-7
Key Wins: Duke (2x), at Clemson, at NC State (2x), at Virginia, vs. Tennessee 
Key Losses: vs. NC State, Clemson, vs. UCONN, vs. Kentucky
National Title Odds: +1400
Final Four Odds: +300
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 21
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 24, Defense No. 6
Twitter: @UNC_Basketball
Head Coach: Hubert Davis

North Carolina won the ACC regular season title and lost in the conference tournament championship game to NC State. The Tar Heels NET ranking is 8 and NC went 9-3 vs. Quad 1 teams and 7-4 vs. Quad 2. North Carolina led the ACC in scoring offense (81.4), scoring margin (+11.2), team rebounds and rebounding margin (+7.4). North Carolina was top-3 in the ACC in FG% defense (40.7) and 3-point defense (31.4%) and shoots a solid 75.4% from the free throw line. 

No. 2 Arizona 

Record: 25-8
Key Wins: at Colorado (2x), at Utah, at Oregon, Alabama, Wisconsin, Michigan State, at Duke
Key Losses: at Washington State, vs. Oregon, Florida Atlantic, Purdue
National Title Odds: +1600
Final Four Odds: +300
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 25
KenPom Stats: Adjusted Offense No. 8, Defense No. 12
Twitter: @ArizonaMBB
Head Coach: Tommy Lloyd

Arizona won the Pac 12 regular season title and lost in the conference tournament semifinals to eventual champion Oregon. Arizona's NET ranking is No. 4 and the Wildcats went 8-3 vs. Quad 1 opponents and 7-4 vs. Quad 2. Arizona was the dominant stats leader in the Pac 12 in scoring (88.0 PPG), scoring margin (+15.7), rebounding margin (+10.6), assists (18.6), steals (8.2) and No. 2 in FG% (48.9), 3 point shooting (37.1) and FG% defense (42.3). 

Check back for additional stats, updates and information you can bet on. 

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