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More than 70% of March Madness brackets have Duke going to the Final Four — here are the 15 most popular picks

By Tyler Lauletta
Zion Williamson Duke
Nearly three out of four brackets built on ESPN have Duke heading to the Final Four. AP Photo/Chuck Burton
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March Madness is back, prompting college basketball fans across the country to start building their brackets with hopes of achieving perfection.

Last year more than 17 million brackets were submitted to ESPN, and this year will likely beat that total, with even more fans tuning in to see the likes of Zion Williamson and the Duke Blue Devils.

According to ESPN, a whopping 70.4% of brackets submitted for the 2019 tournament have the Blue Devils advancing out of their region to the Final Four, making them by far the most popular pick to play through to the third weekend of the tournament.

Take a look below at the most popular picks to make it to the Final Four, along with the chances FiveThirtyEight gives them of making the national semifinal, and their odds in Las Vegas.

Odds courtesy of bovada.lv.

15. Auburn — 4.0%

Auburn
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 11%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +850

14. Kansas — 4.1%

West Virginia's Emmitt Matthews Jr. (11) gets past Kansas' Mitch Lightfoot (44) to put up a shot during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Big 12 men's tournament Friday, March 15, 2019, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Associated Press

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 8%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +1000

13. Houston — 5.9%

Houston Cougars
AP Photo/Jessica Hill

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 10%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +550

12. Villanova — 6.5%

Phil Booth Villanova
AP Photo/Julio Cortez

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 5%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +800

11. Purdue — 7.1%

Matt Haarms Purdue
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 10%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +550

10. Florida State — 9.1%

Florida State basketball
AP Photo/Nell Redmond

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 7%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +650

9. Texas Tech — 9.9%

Texas Tech Jarrett Culver
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 14%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +500

8. Michigan State — 17.2%

Tom Izzo Michigan State
AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 22%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +350

7. Kentucky — 22.2%

PJ Washington Kentucky
AP Photo/James Crisp

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 24%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +275

6. Michigan — 26.3%

Jon Teske Michigan
AP Photo/Tony Ding

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 17%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +300

5. Tennessee — 32.1%

Tennessee Volunteers Admiral Schofield
AP Photo/Brandon Dill

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 21%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +300

4. Virginia — 42.1%

Virginia basketball
AP Photo/Steve Helber

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 49%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +125

3. Gonzaga — 42.2%

Gonzaga
AP Photo/Young Kwak

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 50%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +130

2. North Carolina — 56.5%

North Carolina
AP Photo/Chuck Burton

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 35%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: +185

1. Duke — 70.4%

Zion Williamson Duke
AP Photo/Chuck Burton

FiveThirtyEight chances of making the Final Four: 52%

Las Vegas odds to make Final Four: -160

More March Madness coverage:

rui hachimura
Young Kwak/AP

We picked March Madness favorites, sleepers, and Cinderellas for every region in the bracket

7 strategies for casual fans filling out their March Madness bracket

Here are the most likely March Madness upsets, according to Las Vegas

21 players we can't wait to watch in the NCAA Tournament, ranked

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Tyler Lauletta (1)
Tyler Lauletta
Tyler Lauletta is a sports reporter for Business Insider covering everything from the latest in NFL trades to the NBA playoff race to that weird rugby highlight you don't quite understand but know to be impressive. Hailing from Philadelphia, he is a known Truster of The Process. He graduated from Temple University. You can contact him at tlauletta@jkmperu.com with your questions, pitches, or if you ever feel like gloating after your favorite team beat the Philadelphia 76ers.
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