The Madness marches forward once again later this morning, and throughout the month of March. College basketball aficionados worldwide will feast on a college basketball post-season menu offering a smorgasbord of their favorite college basketball teams, and then some for the next three weeks. This year’s tourney promises to be one of the best of all time—at least that is what I am anticipating. The parity amongst this year’s tourney entrants far exceeds any that I can remember in recent memory.

With all of the hoopla surrounding proverbial new bloods like defending NCAA tournament champion, Baylor University, and the annual national championship seeking the Gonzaga Bulldogs, my bracket predictions are more contrarian ones that that center around 2022 being the year that one of the college basketball’s traditional blue blood basketball programs that we have all come to love or at the very least respect wins it all!

I tell you—when I think about how wide open the tournament field is this year—I get excited beyond description. In my opinion, there are probably 10-15 teams that have a legitimate shot at making a rundown college basketball’s yellow brick road that leads to being enshrined into the pantheon of the NCAA Tournament championship history.

Anyway, here’s my pre-tournament list of the college basketball teams that are most likely to compete for March Madness Glory in this year’s Final Four.

1. Kansas Jayhawks
2. Kentucky Wildcats
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs
4. Arizona Wildcats
5. Purdue Boilermakers
6. Baylor Bears
7. Auburn Tigers
8. Villanova Wildcats
9. Duke University
10. Tennessee Volunteers

If you don’t see your team on this list, don’t fret because this tournament is filled with teams that I view as teams to watch out for or dark horses. In other words, schools that are playing some incredible basketball at the right time, and who are ready to make a run to basketball glory. Note: the list above is not in any particular order nor is it exhaustive. This year there may be about 15 teams that are prepared to compete and make a run straight to the Final Four in New Orleans but only time will tell so stay tuned!