Ernie Johnson dishes out March Madness bracket strategy, biggest upset picks: ‘Put Samford into the Sweet 16’

Ernie Johnson has been covering March Madness for over a decade — and he’s been preparing for this year’s tournament for the last several months.

But the Emmy award-winning broadcaster is just like all of us when it comes to preparing a bracket.

Ahead of the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, Sporting News caught up with Johnson to get insight into his bracket-making strategy and his sleeper picks for this year’s tournament.

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“I’ve been doing all this research for months and finalizing everything,” Johnson told SN. “It’s like the more you know, the worse you do — sometimes you can just know too much.”

Ernie Johnson’s March Madness predictions

Johnson, who doesn’t plan on submitting his bracket until late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, did offer some advice for those out there who might be looking for some bracket busters to believe in.

MORE: When are March Madness brackets due? Here’s when you need to fill out your bracket

“Put Samford in your bracket — put Samford into the Sweet 16,” Johnson said. “That’s just as a favor from me to you. I’m just saying, put them in the Sweet 16.”

Johnson’s not alone in leaning Samford, which enters the tournament with a No. 13 seed  and a 30-5 record. The Bulldogs begin their journey with a golden opportunity against an injury-riddled Kansas team.

In addition to Samford, Johnson added that he “feels kind of strong” about James Madison, another team that enters the tournament with over 30 wins. JMU will put its 32-3 record on the line as a No. 12 seed against No. 5 seed Wisconsin.

MORE: How to pick Gonzaga vs McNeese matchup | How to pick Wisconsin vs. James Madison

Beyond the potential feel-good Cinderella stories, Johnson is looking for defending national champion Connecticut to return to the Final Four, where he expects the Huskies to be joined by Kentucky out of the South Region and Tennessee out of the Midwest.

As for the stacked West Region? Johnson wasn’t quite ready to decide whether North Carolina could advance past potential matchups with Alabama and Arizona.

STREAM: Watch NCAA Tournament games live with Sling

Johnson’s bracket analysis is part of a partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings, which has launched a “Beat the Buffalo” competition in which fans can earn an opportunity to win a year’s worth of free wings and a trip to the 2025 Men’s or Women’s final four.

having @TurnerSportsEJ analyze a bracket picked by a buffalo was not on my 2024 bingo card pic.twitter.com/zaNncruxGY

— Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) March 20, 2024
The competition itself is pretty straightforward: Complete a bracket with Buffalo Wild Wings and do better than Jack, the live buffalo that chose No. 12 seed McNeese State to capture the men’s title and No. 5 seed Colorado to win on the women’s side, with three No. 1 seeds getting upset along the way.

jack the buffalo has made his picks 🔥🏀 pic.twitter.com/I3Ugc0bzvN

— Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) March 19, 2024

Once you take in Jack’s picks, see where Johnson’s advice takes you. You could end up a big-time winner.