2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY - Men

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
Will the Kansas Jayhawks become the first repeat champions in men's college basketball since Florida in 2006 and 2007? That's among the questions to consider at the tipoff of the 2022-23 season.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 8
SEC: 7
Big 12: 7
ACC: 7
Big East: 5
Pac 12: 4
Mountain West: 2
WCC: 2
American: 2
Atlantic 10: 2


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2022 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
By: blackfoot NAP - Nov 26, 2021

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
The only remaining top seed from our opening bracket is Houston, the new No. 1 overall seed given multiple losses from North Carolina and Gonzaga. It's hard to argue with Maui Invitational champion Arizona or Virginia, which swept Baylor and Illinois, ascending to the top line, and a strong case could also be made for Purdue after the Boilermakers captured the PK Legacy.


Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 10
Big 12: 9
SEC: 8
ACC: 6
Big East: 4
Pac 12: 3
WCC: 2
American: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
A whopping 14 new teams appear in this week's bracket, including a pair of new No. 1 seeds in Purdue and Connecticut. This much movement is unusual but not unprecedented in the nonconference portion of the season. The reality is at least a half-dozen teams could make a credible claim for top-seed status at this point.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 9
Big 12: 9
SEC: 7
ACC: 5
Big East: 5
Pac 12: 4
WCC: 2
Mountain West: 2
American: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
There are more newcomers to the top line of this week's bracket. Arizona has been there previously (Nov. 29), but Kansas, surprisingly, is making its first appearance of the season. With Quadrant 1 wins over Duke, NC State, Wisconsin, at Missouri and Indiana, the defending national champions are doing what they always do.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 9
Big 12: 9
SEC: 6
ACC: 5
Big East: 5
Pac 12: 4
Mountain West: 3
WCC: 2
American: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
If you happen to be passing through the Sooner State anytime soon, you're excused if all you can see are bubbles. In this bracket, the state of Oklahoma is Bubble Central. Both the Cowboys and the Sooners are among our "Last Four In" as part of the Big 12's quest to send a record number of teams to the NCAA tournament


Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 9
Big 12: 9
SEC: 7
ACC: 6
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 2
WCC: 2
American: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
Small changes to the bracket can mean big things as the NCAA tournament plays out. For example, Alabama climbs ahead of Purdue to No. 2 overall following its big win at Arkansas. This doesn't affect either Alabama's or Purdue's seed, but it shifts the Boilermakers to the East Region for the second weekend instead of nearby Louisville in the South.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 10
Big 12: 7
ACC: 7
SEC: 5
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 3
American: 3
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
Purdue is back to its rightful place as No. 2 overall after escaping the Breslin Center with a one-point win over Michigan State. Kentucky is no where to be found.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 10
Big 12: 7
ACC: 7
SEC: 5
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 4
Pac 12: 3
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
All we know for sure in terms of No. 1 seeds is that Purdue and Alabama are as solid as can be. Houston and Kansas put themselves in a tenuous position with home-court losses this past weekend, and the Jayhawks finally dropped off the top line after falling at Baylor for their third straight defeat.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 10
Big 12: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 5
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 3
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[C-40]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
How good is the Big 12 this season? The NCAA men's basketball committee might have to supersede its own bracketing principles.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 8
Big 12: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 6
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 4
Pac 12: 3
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
Alabama's day as the top overall seed has finally arrived, and it is well earned. The Crimson Tide have won 13 of their past 14 games, including four Quadrant 1 and five Quadrant 2 victories in that span.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 8
Big 12: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 7
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 4
Pac 12: 2
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
It's pretty unusual for a conference to have more bubble teams than NCAA locks. Yet that is the situation we find ourselves in with the Pac-12. UCLA and Arizona are two of the 10 best teams in the country, but the gap between them and the rest of the conference is dramatically large.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 9
Big 12: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 7
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 2
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
It is long past time to address the elephant in the room. A week or so ago that team appeared to be Kentucky. With the Wildcats righting their ship, the title of "biggest underachiever" is held solely by North Carolina. The Tar Heels lost the latest "save their season" game at NC State on Sunday and now carry the burden of an 0-9 Quadrant 1 record into the final two weeks of the schedule.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 9
Big 12: 8
SEC: 8
ACC: 5
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 3
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
It really is a game of inches -- or, more accurately, seconds. Arizona State's Desmond Cambridge Jr. hits a 60-foot buzzer-beater to shock Arizona in Tucson, for the extra exclamation point and suddenly the Sun Devils are the last team in the projected field instead of outside the cut line.

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 9
SEC: 8
Big 12: 7
ACC: 5
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 4
American: 2
WCC: 2

 

[blackfoot NAP]

2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETOLOGY
It's an extremely close call among the top three teams on the new seed list -- Kansas, Alabama and Houston -- but the Jayhawks get the nod in this update thanks to their unprecedented Quadrant 1 record (15-6).

Conference Breakdown
Big Ten: 10
SEC: 8
Big 12: 7
ACC: 5
Big East: 5
Moutain West: 3
Pac 12: 3
American: 2
WCC: 2