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March Madness Cheat Sheet: Bracket picks, potential upsets

How far can Tom Izzo take this year's edition of the Michigan State Spartans? We've got the answer to that question and more in our NCAA tournament cheat sheet. Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

It's fewer than 24 hours until the NCAA men's college basketball tournament tips off and March Madness begins in earnest, with the first game scheduled for 12:15 p.m. ET on Thursday. In the days since the bracket was revealed, ESPN's team of analysts -- including Jeff Borzello, Myron Medcalf, Joe Lunardi, John Gasaway, Paul Hembekides and Keith Lipscomb -- has been tirelessly dissecting the bracket and producing tens of thousands of words to help you be smarter and more informed about filling out yours. But as time gets short, do you have time to read it all? Probably not. But don't worry, that's why cheat sheets were invented.

Below, you will find all the answers you need as you construct a winning entry into Tournament Challenge, your office or family pool, or shooting for Gregg Nigl's unofficial record of best bracket ever. If you want to dig in more, follow the link to each individual column, but if all you need are the takeaways, this cheat sheet has you covered.

Jeff Borzello's Instant Bracket

Borzello predicts a score for each matchup and advances them through a bracket. If it plays out this way, here are Jeff's predictions for the Final Four and the national championship.

  • No. 1 (East) UConn defeats No. 2 (West) Arizona

  • No. 1 (South) Houston defeats No. 3 (Midwest) Creighton

  • UConn defeats Houston for the title

Joe Lunardi's Bracket Guide

Joey Brackets and his team identified strengths, weaknesses and that one thing that might allow each school to survive and advance, and gave each team a final ranking. Here is the top 10.