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Virginia picked to win NCAA tournament in 4 of 30 expert brackets

UVA picked to make Final Four in 13 of 30 brackets

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament-Virginia vs North Carolina State Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Now that the bracket has been released, college basketball pundits from the national media have begun predicting their champions and Final Four participants.

Of 30 brackets chosen, four experts predict the Virginia Cavaliers to win it all. Duke received the most picks with 19, with Gonzaga, UNC, Kentucky, and Michigan picking up votes as well. As for the Final Four representative from the South Regional, only 13 of the 30 experts chose No. 1 seed UVA, compared to 15 for No. 2 seed Tennessee and two for No. 6 seed and defending champion Villanova. As to be expected, the other #1 seeds were chosen to make the Final Four by more of the experts.

While ESPN announced their top line picks over the air, other sites, like Sports Illustrated, CBS, and USA Today released full brackets. Below is a chart of the expert picks:

Final Four Expert Picks

Expert Site Champion Runner-Up South Winner West Winner East Winner Midwest Winner
Expert Site Champion Runner-Up South Winner West Winner East Winner Midwest Winner
Kyle Boone CBS Duke Kentucky Tennessee Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Dennis Dodd CBS Gonzaga Kentucky Virginia Gonzaga Michigan St Kentucky
Josh Nagel CBS Virginia Gonzaga Virginia Gonzaga Michigan St Kentucky
Matt Norlander CBS Virginia Gonzaga Virginia Gonzaga Michigan St North Carolina
Jerry Palm CBS Duke Tennessee Tennessee Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Gary Parrish CBS Duke North Carolina Tennessee Gonzaga Duke North Carolina
Chip Patterson CBS Duke Kentucky Villanova Texas Tech Duke Kentucky
Jay Bilas ESPN North Carolina Duke Virginia Michigan Duke North Carolina
Rece Davis ESPN Duke North Carolina Tennessee Gonzaga Duke North Carolina
Seth Greenberg ESPN Duke Kentucky Virginia Texas Tech Duke Kentucky
Dick Vitale ESPN Duke Tennessee Tennessee Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Jay Williams ESPN Kentucky Duke Tennessee Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Rob Dauster NBC Duke North Carolina Virginia Texas Tech Duke North Carolina
Travis Hines NBC Duke Virginia Virginia Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Raphielle Johnson NBC Duke Tennessee Tennessee Michigan Duke North Carolina
Scott Phillips NBC Duke Kentucky Virginia Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Andy Katz NCAA Gonzaga Tennessee Tennessee Gonzaga Michigan St North Carolina
Ricky O'Donnell SB Nation Duke Kentucky Virginia Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Michael Beller Sports Illustrated North Carolina Duke Tennessee Michigan Duke North Carolina
Emily Caron Sports Illustrated Virginia Michigan Virginia Michigan Duke Kentucky
Molly Geary Sports Illustrated Gonzaga North Carolina Tennessee Gonzaga Duke North Carolina
Dan Greene Sports Illustrated Duke North Carolina Tennessee Michigan Duke North Carolina
Max Meyer Sports Illustrated Duke Kentucky Virginia Gonzaga Duke Kentucky
Michael Shapiro Sports Illustrated Duke North Carolina Tennessee Texas Tech Duke North Carolina
Eric Single Sports Illustrated Virginia Texas Tech Virginia Texas Tech Duke Houston
Josiah Turner Sports Illustrated Duke North Carolina Villanova FSU Duke North Carolina
Jeremy Woo Sports Illustrated Michigan North Carolina Tennessee Michigan Duke North Carolina
Bill Bender Sporting News Duke North Carolina Tennessee Michigan Duke North Carolina
Scott Gleeson USA Today Duke Kentucky Virginia Texas Tech Duke Kentucky
Shelby Mast USA Today Duke North Carolina Tennessee Gonzaga Duke North Carolina

Virginia will first have to get past 16-seed Gardner-Webb, which will tip off Friday around 3:15 pm. The game will be aired on truTV.