The 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket is now out, with the participating teams being revealed this Sunday. Now, we just need to wait and see who upsets who in the lead-up to the national championship game.
Since 1985, No. 5 seeds have been knocked off by No. 12 seeds on 51 occasions and the tournament is one from which shocks are always expected. A few teams will go into the tourney as the favorites to win it all. Still, you just never know.
The 2023 bracket has Drake, Oral Roberts, Charleston, and VCU as No. 12 seeds. Drake will be facing No. 5 Miami in the Midwest and they are heading into the fixture having lost just one game since January while their upcoming opponents have been beaten by Duke in the ACC semifinals and also shockingly lost to Florida State.
More Top Games To Watch
Among other interesting games to watch will be No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 9 West Virginia in the South Region. Maryland has been a very formidable defensive team under head coach Kevin Willard and allows just 63.2 points on average.
On the other side of the ball, point guard Jahmir Young leads all scorers with 16.5 points a game following a transfer from Charlotte.
As for West Virginia, they’re back in the tournament after failing to make the cut in 2022. The Mountaineers have had the hardest route to March Madness this season, in terms of their schedule, and should be prepared to face anyone in what will be the 25th appearance for head coach Bob Huggins.
San Diego State, No. 5, will be going up against Charleston and arrives with 10 wins out of their last 11 games. They have allowed just 54.3 points per game over the span of their last four games, showing an improvement on defense as of late.
The defense will be met with a stern test, though, as the Cougars are a real threat from three and have scored at least 84 points in their last seven games. So it would not come as a surprise if the fans paying attention to the March Madness sports odds and predictions opt to take a chance on them prior to the matchup.
Another intriguing matchup comes in the form of Virgina vs. Thurman. Virginia, No. 4, won the championship four years ago but has not been able to advance past the first round since. They went 15-5 in the ACC this season and will be keen on at least making it past the first round.
As for Thurman, No. 13, they’re coming in hot on the back of 14 victories in their last 15 games and score 82.1 points per contest. They boast four players who average 10 or more points a game and move the ball about excellently.
Making Your Brackets
A lot of thought should go into making your bracket as you need to consider the teams which could go on surprising runs before making your picks. The most fun way to go about this is actually putting in the work. Do the research and see where an upper hand could be had in terms of unforeseen upsets.
There are other ways of determining your brackets without having to put in all the work. Those can be fun as well, especially if you just don’t have the time and don’t want to simply employ guesswork. A number of websites offer models which can predict which teams will win which games based on pertinent data.
The Hottest Team In The NCAA Tournament
The Houston Cougars are considered the best team in the NCAA Tournament this year and have been the best team in college basketball for the past two months. They’re one of the best defensive teams around while forward Jarace Walker, a future lottery pick, is as impactful as they come. The five-star big man was heavily recruited before committing to Houston and he might just end up taking them all the way.
The Cougars have a bit of everything needed to win a championship this year, including top-class coaching, shooting, size, defense, and discipline. Maybe 2023 will finally be their year.
