Seth Greenberg reveals March Madness prediction for top seed to lose first

ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg at NCAA Tournament

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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March Madness is tipping off with a full slate of games on Thursday, bringing massive viewership to college basketball for the next several days and weeks.

The NCAA Tournament will last until just one team remains out of a field of 64, with four No. 1 seeds all among popular picks to advance to the Final Four and cut down the nets. However, some experts believe that those top seeds aren't immune to a shocking upset.

This year's top overall seed is the Duke Blue Devils, who will represent the East Region. They're joined by fellow No. 1 seeds, the Michigan Wolverines, Arizona Wildcats, and defending champion Florida Gators.

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Each of those teams has a serious claim to the championship, but some may have tougher paths to get there. Count ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg among the naysayers regarding No. 1 teams, as he revealed his prediction for the first of the top seeds to get eliminated from the Big Dance.

ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg at NCAA Tournament

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According to the former Virginia Tech Hokies basketball coach, Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils are on upset watch. They enter the tournament down two of their starting players, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II, which is a big concern after those players aided them throughout the season in basically running through the ACC and out-of-conference teams.

Greenberg then mentioned the gauntlet of teams Duke faces as potential opponents in its bracket. He mentioned “tradition-rich programs," “Hall of Fame coaches,” and "National Championship coaches" are part of their East Region.

Duke's bracket features the likes of Bill Self's Kansas Jayhawks, Tom Izzo's Michigan State, and Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies, who have won two of the last three championships. While Hurley's roster has changed since those previous two, he's still considered one of the great coaches in the game.

"So, as much as I've liked the job Jon Scheyer is doing, and as much as I've liked Cayden Boozer, who stepped in and did a terrific job, and how I think that Cam Boozer is the most underappreciated player in college basketball, their bracket says with two starters out, and Cam Boozer basically playing Scottie Pippen as their backup point guard, that is the toughest bracket in all of college basketball," he said on "First Take."

"I'm not sure Duke gets past either St. John's or Kansas," Greenberg stated, also mentioning he believed they would be out of the tournament "early" too.

Duke opens up their first round with a matchup against a No. 16 seed Siena. That will be their first test, as even though top seeds typically dominate 16 seeds in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, history has shown a few shocking upsets involving a David slaying a Goliath.