4/6/2023 0 Comments Four o clocksMary’s in the first round, and UConn over VCU to make the Sweet 16. Can Rick Pitino pull the big upset in round one? It’s possible, but we’ll go with the Huskies. UConn is a fascinating first round matchup, and the winner should have a favorable path through the bracket. We’ll take the Illini, but we think Kansas can take them out in round two. It starts with the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks, who will have a tough second round matchup regardless of who wins between Illinois and Arkansas. The West feels like the most difficult region to pick, for sure. I like Texas A&M to beat Xavier before falling to Houston. We’ll go with Texas A&M to beat Texas and punch their ticket to the Sweet 16. 7 seed after finishing second in the SEC this year. The bottom half of the bracket is building towards a Texas vs. We’re not sure if TJD has enough help to pull such a big upset, so give us Houston. Houston will be really tough, but we believe the Cougars’ physicality can neutralize Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis somewhat. The Hoosiers have the talent to beat Kent State in round one before punching their Sweet 16 ticket. Miami’s run will end in round two against Indiana. The Bulldogs are good enough to win a game or two in this tournament, but the Hurricanes are a very tough matchup. Miami-Drake is an elite first round matchup. Still, we’ll take Houston to the Sweet 16 with a win over Iowa. There’s only one problem: star guard Marcus Sasser went down with the groin injury, and no one knows his status for the NCAA tournament. Houston has been our pick as the best team in college basketball all year. Read my piece on how Marquette became the best story in college basketball this year. I have Marquette over Memphis in the Elite Eight. Give me Marquette over Vermont, and Marquette over USC to make the Sweet 16. I like USC over Michigan State in the 7-10 upset. We’ll take Kansas State over Kentucky to go to the Sweet 16. We’ll take Kentucky over Providence to start the bottom half of the region. I’ll also take Louisiana over Tennessee, and Oral Roberts to the Sweet 16 over the Ragin’ Cajuns. The Blue Devils have been playing some great ball lately. Star guard Max Abmas is still around for Oral Roberts, but a matchup with Duke won’t be easy. It was just two years ago that Oral Roberts reached the Sweet 16 as a No. Oral Roberts is also a fascinating opening round game. Marquette built an elite offense overnight, and it’s made them a Final Four sleeperĭuke vs. Nate Oats’ team has the most talent in this region led by Brandon Miller. I’ve been backing Creighton all year, and they would have gotten a higher seed than this without a six-game losing streak in the middle of the year with Kalkbrenner out of the lineup.Īlabama will beat Creighton to punch their ticket to the Final Four. The Wildcats are awesome on the inside, but Creighton has a legit rim protector too in Ryan Kalkbrenner. We think Creighton has better guard play than Arizona with Trey Alexander and Ryan Nembhard initiating the offense. Give us Arizona over the Tigers in round two. This will be arguably the best matchup of round two, but we’ll take the Bluejays. We like Creighton and Baylor to win as favorites in the first round. Charleston’s run ends against Bama in the regional semifinal. We’ll take Charleston into the Sweet 16 as a No. 5 San Diego State in the first round, and Virginia beating Furman. 16 seed without a problem, and we’ll take them over No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, and it feels like the Crimson Tide have a favorite path to the Final Four. Here are our picks for the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament made immediately after the bracket was announced. I do these instant bracket predictions every year, so it’s time to go on the record once again. There are so many teams that feel like they could win it all this year with the right draw. Of course, last season’s championship game was an instant classic between No. The lowest seed to ever win it all was a No. 1 seed has won the big dance the last five years - and 12 of the last 15. There are a few things we know about trying to pick a winner based on history. While Houston, Kansas, and Alabama will likely be the most popular picks in your office pool, this does feel like the type of year that a sleeper could potentially go all the way. Instead, the field is wide open and full of possibilities for the 68 teams who heard their name called on Selection Sunday. There is no overwhelming favorite entering the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament.
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