Charles Barkley waited until mere minutes before the start of the NCAA Tournament to reveal his bracket and people were promptly stunned by his picks to reach the national title game.
In his bracket, Barkley showed a ton of love to the Pac-12, picking 2-seeded Arizona and 11-seeded Oregon to join 1-seeded UConn and 3-seeded Kentucky in the Final Four. He then has both of those Pac-12 teams winning their respective games, with Arizona knocking off Oregon to win the national title game.
Some of the other highlights of his bracket include three First Round upsets, with the biggest being 12-seeded James Madison shocking 5-seeded Duke. He also has 11-seeded New Mexico reaching the Sweet 16.
Barkley wasn’t particularly high on 1-seeded North Carolina though, as he has them bowing out to Mississippi State in the Round of 32. Purdue only goes as far as the Sweet 16, while Houston reaches and loses in the Elite Eight.
But perhaps the biggest surprise was that he did not have his own alma mater – the Auburn Tigers – reaching the final few games. He has them losing to UConn in the Sweet 16.
Fans in the comments were downright stunned by some of Barkley’s picks:
Chuck’s bracket! #MarchMadness
All Pac-12 National Championship 🏆
Auburn out in the Sweet 16 😮
James Madison > Duke 👀GUARANTEED! @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/3ycL1gRQsj
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2024
“Charles Barkley has…..the Oregon Ducks in the national championship game. Alright, Chuck!” one user wrote.
“Oh no, Chuck picked Arizona. Arizona is a NEVER pick team to go past the sweet 16. Rookie mistake. Been burned for 9 years in a row on that,” another wrote.
“Et tu, Brute?” an Auburn fan lamented.
“This is the worst bracket I’ve ever seen,” wrote a fourth.
Do you like Barkley’s bracket?