2023 NCAA BRACKETOLOGY

 

Updated at 4:55pm on Selection Sunday

MIDWEST

DES MOINES
1) Kansas (27-7, 13-5)
16) Play In: FDU (19-15, 10-6) (NEC) 298 vs. Texas Southern (14-20, 7-11) (SWAC) 302

8) Memphis (26-8, 13-5) (AAC Title Game) 31
9)  Penn St (22-12, 10-10) (Big Ten Title Game) 31

ALBANY
5)  Texas A&M (25-9, 15-3) 20 
12)  VCU (27-7, 15-3) (Atlantic 10) 58

4) Indiana (22-11, 12-8) 27 
13) Kent St (28-6, 15-3) 63 

ALBANY
6)  Iowa St (19-13, 9-9) 17
11) Pittsburgh (22-11, 14-6) 67

3) UConn (23-9, 13-6) 16     
14) Furman (27-7,15-3) (Southern) 88

DENVER
7) Missouri (23-8, 11-7) 48
10) Boise St (24-8, 13-5) 28

2) Arizona (28-6, 13-5) 2 (PAC 12) 10
15) Montana St (27-7 16-4) (Big Sky) 120 

SOUTH 

BIRMINGHAM
1) Alabama (29-5, 16-2) (SEC) 2
16) TXAM-CC (23-10, 14-4) (Southland) 174

8) Maryland (21-12, 11-9) 30
9) Utah St (26-8, 13-5) 18

ORLANDO
5)  Kansas St (23-9, 11-7) 23    
12) Charleston (31-3, 16-2) (Colonial) 50

4) Virginia (23-9, 13-6) 30     
13) Iona (27-7, 17-3) (MAAC) 59
 

DES MOINES
6) St. Mary's (26-7, 14-2) 9     
11)  Play In: NC St. (23-10, 12-8) 45  vs Arizona St (22-12, 11-9) 66

3) Baylor (22-10, 11-7) 13    
14) Princeton 21-8, 10-4) (Ivy League) 116/79

COLUMBUS
7) Michigan St. (22-12, 11-9) 36    
10)  USC (22-10, 14-6) 50

2) Marquette (28-6, 16-3) (Big East) 12    
15) Vermont (28-5, 17-1) (America East) 55

 

WEST

BIRMINGHAM
1) Houston (31-2), 17-3) (AAC Title Game) 1
16) Northern Kentucky (20-12, 14-6) (Horizon) 157

8) Arkansas (20-13, 8-10) 22
9) Iowa (19-13, 11-9) 39

ORLANDO
5) Miami (25-7, 15-5) 33    
12) Oral Roberts (30-4, 18-0) (Summit) 38

4) Xavier (25-9, 15-5) 19    
13) Louisiana (26-7, 13-5) (Sun Belt) 90

 

SACRAMENTO
6) San Diego St (25-6, 15-3) (MWC)15
11) Providence (21-11, 13-7) 55

3) Gonzaga (28-5, 14-2) (WCC) 7
14) USCB (27-7, 15-5) (Big West) 102  

 

SACRAMENTO
7)  Northwestern (21-11, 12-8) 41
10)  West Virginia (19-14, 7-11) 25

2)  UCLA (25-7, 15-5) 10      
15) Kennesaw St (26-8,15-3) (A-Sun) 113 

 

EAST

COLUMBUS
1) Purdue (28-5, 15-5) (Big Ten Title Game) 5 
16) Play In:  Howard (22-12, 11-3) 216 vs SE Missouri St (19-16, 10-8) (OVC) 243 

8) Florida Atlantic (31-3, 18-2) (USA) 14
9)  Auburn (20-12, 10-8) 32

GREENSBORO
5) TCU (21-11, 9-9) 27
12) Drake (26-7,15-5) (Missouri Valley) 53

4) Tennessee (23-10, 11-7) 3/22    
13) Grand Canyon (24-11,11-7) (WAC) 112 

 

GREENSBORO
6) Creighton (21-11, 14-6) 13
11) Play In: Rutgers (19-14, 12-8) 40 vs Nevada (22-10, 12-6) 37

3) Duke (25-8, 14-6) (ACC) 15
14) Colgate (24-8,17-1) (Patriot) 99 

DENVER
7)  Kentucky (21-11, 12-6) 26
10)  Illinois (20-12, 11-9) 34

2) Texas (26-8, 12-6) (Big 12) 9
15) UNC-Asheville (27-7, 16-2) (Big South) 140/82

 

NET Rankings are the numbers by the teams

RPI Rankings are listed if there's a huge difference between NET and RPI 

 

CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN:

Big Ten: 9

Big 12: 7

SEC: 6

Big East: 5

ACC: 5

Mountain West: 4

PAC 12: 4

WCC: 2

American: 2

23 One Bid Leagues

LAST 4 Bubble Byes:
West Virginia (19-14, 7-11) 25
Boise St (24-8, 13-5) 28
Providence (21-11, 13-7) 55
Pittsburgh (22-11, 14-6) 67

LAST 4 IN:
NC St. (23-10, 12-8) 45  
Rutgers (19-14, 12-8) 40 
Nevada (22-10, 12-6) 37
Arizona St (22-12, 11-9) 66 

FIRST 4 OUT:
Mississippi St (21-12, 8-10) 48
Oklahoma St (18-15, 8-10) 43
Vanderbilt (20-14, 14-6) 81/41
Clemson (23-10, 14-6) 60

NEXT 4 OUT:
Michigan (17-15, 11-9) 62
Oregon (19-14, 12-8) 47
UNC (20-13, 11-9) 46
Wisconsin (17-14, 9-11) 80 

Case for my last teams in

I can certainly see both Mississippi St, Oklahoma St or Clemson being the last team in. However I think Oklahoma State's record is too bad despite 6 Quad 1 wins. Clemson has 4 Quad 1 wins but a low NET number of 60 and a horrible non-conference strength of schedule at 312. Clemson's best non-conference win was double OT home win against Penn S

For my last 2 spots it came down to Nevada, Arizona St and Mississippi St. Nevada has a good NET at 37 and 4 Quad 1 wins. Plus they are helped by the Mountain West having the 4th best conference RPI. Arizona St has 5 Quad 1 wins and ALL of them were on the road or on a neutral site. Mississippi St has 4 Quad 1 wins but their losing record in the SEC will hurt plus a lack of any huge wins since January.

Best Possible Matchups with this Bracket: 

Round of 64: 

5) Miami vs 12) Oral Roberts 

Two of the best guards in the nation go at it with Miami's Isaiah Wong and Oral Roberts Max Abmas. Wong is the ACC player of the year while Abmas is the leading scorer for the high-powered Oral Roberts offense that averages 84.2 points per game.

8) Florida Atlantic vs 8) Auburn  

The Owls of Boca Raton will be a hot pick after winning 30 games this season. They can shoot the lights out of the ball and have the length to compete with Auburn 

 

Round of 32: 
3) Gonzaga vs. 6) San Diego St 

This would be great matchup between two hot West Coast teams that are both fresh off winning their conference tournaments. 

Sweet 16:

2) Marquette vs 3) Baylor 

Baylor could easily be a 2 seed but in my bracket I have them as a 3 seed. This could be an epic coaching battle between Shaka Smart of Marquette and Scott Drew of Baylor. Drew won the title 2 years ago, while many consider Smart (or Mark Few/Matt Painter) the best coach in the country that has yet to win a national title. 

Elite 8: 

1) Purdue vs 3) Duke 

The Boilermakers have 7-4 Zach Edey who is likely the National Player of the Year after averaging 22.1 points and 12.8 rebounds per game. Duke has the best combination of length to stop him with Fab Freshman Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Lively who are both over 7 feet tall. I really hope we get to see this again. Edey had his way with the young pups when they played in November. However, Duke is currently the hottest team in the nation.