March Madness Specials: Will Joe Lunardi Correctly Predict Every No. 1 Seed?

Conference championship week is coming to a close, which means Selection Sunday is on the horizon. At long last, we’ll get those March Madness brackets on Sunday when the NCAA unveils the full 68-team field ahead of the men’s basketball tournament. The tourney itself gets underway next week, with first-round action starting on March 18.

So, you’ll have a few days to get those brackets finalized before the madness officially begins. In the meantime, you can head on over to SportsBetting.ag and take a gander at some of the Selection Sunday specials currently being offered. Selection Sunday is sure to bring a few unexpected twists and turns, as usual. Let’s see if we can uncover some betting value amidst the mayhem.

Will Charles Barkley Pick an SEC Team to Win a Region?

• Yes (+135)
• No (-175)

As you’ll see, several of the Selection Sunday specials involve Charles Barkley. The Chuckster is a part of CBS’ March Madness coverage every year, for better or worse. At this point, Sir Charles is really only there to provide comic relief. If you’re looking to Barkley to provide some in-depth, comprehensive college basketball analysis, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

I don’t think Barkley watches any more college basketball than anybody else until the tourney actually begins. Frankly, he probably doesn’t watch any during the regular season. So, take any and all analysis he provides on Sunday with a 300-pound grain of salt.

Regardless, he’s being paid to say stuff while he’s on TV, so he will. Barkley is a proud Auburn alum, so he typically takes a pro-SEC stance whenever he’s called upon to prognosticate. His beloved Tigers won’t be in the tourney this year after a sub-.500 season. However, the conference will still get plenty of representation.

“I never won a championship. I got to live with that forever. You guys got a chance to do that.”

—Charles Barkley tells Auburn not to take this moment for granted (via @marchmadness)pic.twitter.com/HpcTZnLbIP

— ESPN (@espn) April 6, 2019

Most projections have six SEC teams – Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, Arkansas, and LSU – cracking the 68-team field. Ole Miss is on the bubble as a possible seventh entrant, but we’ll see. The Crimson Tide are expected to be a No. 2 seed, which likely gives them the best chances of any SEC team to advance to the Final Four.

Of course, Alabama is Auburn’s biggest rival. Barkley may be pro-SEC, but he’s certainly anti-‘Bama. He won’t take the Tide to win their region, because that would be blasphemy. Barkley also said on a recent appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast that SEC schools “have the worst fanbases in the history of civilization.”

While Barkley may have a soft spot for some in the SEC, Auburn’s absence from the tournament has me thinking he likely won’t pick any SEC team to advance out of their respective regions. None of the other teams are particularly likely to make deep runs. I’ll side with “no” at -175 here.

Will Barkley Say “Auburn” During the Selection Show?

• Yes (+150)
• No (-200)

We’ve got good value here. Barkley almost never misses an opportunity to shout out his alma mater. Even with Auburn nowhere near tournament contention this season, it still seems likely that Sir Charles will sneak a reference in there at some point.

As mentioned, the SEC will be well-represented on Selection Sunday. With Alabama having emerged as one of the best teams in the nation this season, Barkley should have ample opportunity to slander his school’s archrivals. Auburn also has wins this season over likely tournament teams in Missouri and Tennessee. Whether Barkley is aware of that is another matter, but there’s still the potential for some trash talk here.

Take the upside in “yes” at +150. Barkley will mention the Tigers at some point on Sunday.

How Many Schools Will Barkley Mispronounce?

• Over 1/2 (-130)
• Under 1/2 (-110)

Barkley has been a TV personality for quite some time now, but we know the NBA on TNT crew is more than happy to make fun of his occasional verbal slip-ups. Whether that same camaraderie exists on the set of the more eclectic college basketball on CBS crew remains to be seen, but we have seen the big man struggle with names at times over the years:

To be fair to Charles, “Valanciunas” is a hard name to pronounce!

Taking a look at the projected field for this year’s tournament, there don’t seem to be too many tongue-twisters out there. St. Bonaventure could be a stumbling block for some broadcasters, but the Bonnies are a pretty well-known entity when it comes to March Madness. It doesn’t take an expert linguist to know how to pronounce schools like UCLA, BYU, or VCU.

I’ll be the under here at -110. Barkley will nail all of his pronunciations like the broadcast professional that he is on Sunday.

Will Joe Lunardi Correctly Predict All 68 Teams?

• Yes (+400)
• No (-700)

Selection Sunday always comes with a fair number of surprises and head-scratchers. Even an expert “Bracketologist” doesn’t have an easy time trying to predict the entire 68-team field. Joe Lunardi has become the most visible Bracketologist in the nation over the past few years. While some others have actually been more accurate in terms of final predictions, Lunardi’s own track record is still pretty impressive.

Lunardi correctly predicted 66 of the 68 teams that made the tourney back in 2015. In 2013, he actually nailed the entire 68-team field. While he only correctly predicted 34 seeds, getting all of the teams right is the more impressive feat. His 42 correct seeding calls in ’15 was his all-time best. In 2019, the last time the NCAA Tournament took place, Lunardi went 67-for-68.

Prior attachment was the wrong one…this is correct. pic.twitter.com/RX7lLOCZm2

— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) March 12, 2021

There is plenty of science involved in Bracketology, but there is admittedly some guesswork involved, too. Lunardi’s analytical approach to things generally serves him well, but even the best Bracketologists don’t get them all correct.

The odds are against him, but I’m putting faith in ESPN’s Bracketologist here. Lunardi will go 68-for-68 on Sunday. At least, the profit potential is worth a try. Bet “yes” at +400.

Will Lunardi Correctly Guess All No. 2 Seeds?

• Yes (+125)
• No (-165)

Things can change between now and Sunday, of course. As of this writing on March 12, Lunardi has Iowa, Ohio State, Houston, and Alabama listed as his probable No. 2 seeds in the tourney. Those are the same No. 2 seeds he had back on March 4, as well.

Assuming nothing too unexpected happens in conference tournaments this weekend, Lunardi seems to be on the right track here. Back on March 7, ex-ESPNer Andy Katz had the same four teams as his projected second-seeds. Ditto for Bill Bender of Sporting News and Jerry Palm of CBS Sports.

Could Alabama wash out of the SEC Tournament and throw things into chaos? It’s certainly possible, but all of these experts having the same projection is compelling enough to where the value on “yes” at +125 stands out. Once again, shoot for the plus-money upside.

Will Lunardi Correctly Guess All No. 1 Seeds?

• Yes (-200)
• No (+150)

There isn’t much drama left with this one. Because we think Lunardi will get all of his No. 2 seeds correct, it’s pretty logical to conclude that he must get all of the top seeds right, too. The only way he doesn’t get it right is if one of the projected 1 seeds falls to 2, or vice-versa.

So, you might as well bet the same way with both of these props. As of now, Lunardi has Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, and Illinois as his four No. 1 seeds. Once again, our aforementioned experts are all aligned. So, “yes” is clearly the way to go at -200.

Which Seed Will Joe Biden Pick to Win the Title?

• No. 1 (-200)
• No. 2 (+175)
• Any other seed (+350)

Back in the day, ESPN ran a feature with Katz in which he would hang out with the president as POTUS made his March Madness predictions. I suppose it’s just one of those fun ways to try and humanize the Commander in Chief.

Predictably, this tradition died as soon as Donald Trump took office. Trump seems like the type of person that has never had an ounce of fun in his entire life, so he didn’t make any public picks for the NCAA Tournament. President Barack Obama, who is on record as being a major basketball fan, made a total of 630 public picks during his time in the Oval Office.

so this was absolutely insane pic.twitter.com/W4JL6LQZxq

— Olivia Raisner (@OliviaRaisner) October 31, 2020

Based on the existence of this prop, I assume we are expecting President Biden to revive the tradition. Biden doesn’t seem to be quite as into sports as his former White House cohort was, so I don’t have much faith in Joe’s Bracketology.

Most people that have no idea what they’re doing are going to just side with the favorites when filling out a bracket. Or, they’ll pick the team with the better mascot. Michigan was one of the states that helped Biden unseat Trump in November’s election. Perhaps the Wolverines’ status as a No. 1 seed helps them stand out if he’s trying to make predictions, as well. A wolverine is admittedly a pretty awesome mascot, which can’t hurt their chances.

I’m thinking Biden goes with a top seed. Bet No. 1 at -200 here.