2023’s March Madness Will Be The Most Unpredictable One Yet
With March Madness quickly approaching that means the college basketball regular season is coming to a close. Conference champions will soon be crowned and the madness of the big tournament will be here. What an exciting time of the year right? The only problem is picking legit frontrunners to win it all this year.
Some teams will be contenders but could easily be knocked out as well. The big tournament always carries major upsets but this year might have even more fireworks. Let’s discuss who will lead the pack or attempt to in this year’s men’s March Madness tournament.
Tier One Teams
In college basketball, there is an important category for teams that are the best. Those teams are the tier-ones that should be in contention for either a one or two seed in each region. The March Madness tournament has an overall number one seed followed by three other one seeds. To earn a one seed, that team has a large amount of “quad-one wins“. A quad-one win is against teams ranked 1-75 either on the road, at home, or in a neutral site game. Here are my tier-one teams.
Alabama Crimson Tide: Number One Overall Seed
First up, we have the number-one team in the nation in Alabama. Nate Oats decided it was time for Alabama to be relevant in more than just football. As of right now, the Crimson Tide are going to be the number one overall team in this year’s tournament. The play of freshman star Brandon Miller and his 19 points per game has the Tide controlling the field.
Bama takes the number one overall spot simply because they have 14 wins across quad one and two. They also defeated the number two team on this list on their home floor 71-65. The only thing standing in Bama’s way of being the number one overall seed for March Madness is losing one of these final games or even in the conference tournament.
Bama has South Carolina on the road, Arkansas and Auburn at home, and they close the season on the road at Texas A&M. The Tide are definitely the real deal but they have to close it out strong. The March Madness tournament will be a big stage for this team but so far they have shown they can handle big games.
Houston Cougars: Number One Seed
Next, we have the second-best team in the country and that is the Houston Cougars. You could even argue that Houston is the best team in the nation considering they are number one in KenPom and NET. If Houston earns a one seed, this would be only the second time in program history they earn one of those top four spots in the tournament. Houston also is tied for the least amount of losses this year and one of them is against Alabama by six points.
The Cougars are one of the most athletic teams in the country this year. Senior guard Marcus Sasser is leading the charge with 16 points per game and shooting an efficient 42 percent from the field. Houston has all the pieces to make a serious run in March. Houston has never won an NCAA title, but what better time than right now and prove they are made for March Madness?
Houston has home games against Tulane and Wichita State and road games against East Carolina and Memphis. The big game there is on the road against Memphis considering Houston just beat them Sunday afternoon 72-64 in Houston. The Cougars have it all there, now it is time to see how they close it out heading into March.
Kansas Jayhawks: Number One Seed
Next up, we have the third-best number-one seed for the 2023 tournament in the defending champion Jayhawks. Kansas has racked up 17 quad one and two wins which leads the NCAA. The Big 12 this year is a brutal conference to try and be successful in. However, the Jayhawks who lost three in a row at one point, find themselves right back at the top of the conference right before March Madness.
While the Jayhawks might not find their way to the top overall seed, they will be a team to watch in the March Madness tournament. If freshman star Grady Dick can find a rhythm and KU’s veteran players can lead the way, KU is dangerous once again. Limiting turnovers and getting fast-break possessions is key for KU. They also live and die by the three sometimes and that can be problematic. The Jayhawks’ biggest threat is themselves and if they can build their team chemistry, they could win it all again.
KU still has TCU and Texas on the road and home games against West Virginia and Texas Tech. The Big 12 is a gauntlet this year but KU can survive if they win these final big games. That final game against Texas is setting up to be a winner-takes-the-conference matchup, buckle up folks.
Arizona Wildcats: Number One Seed
Lastly, we have the surprise number one seed that some might not agree with and that is the Arizona Wildcats. Arizona is making a solid case for a one-seed this year once again. With 13 wins across quads one and two, the Wildcats sit at 24-4 overall. Their case is that they have beaten some big opponents in Oregon, UCLA, and Tennessee this season.
The Wildcats are scoring 83 points per game this season led by junior forward Azuolas Tubelis at scoring 19.6 per game. The March Madness tournament is nothing new for Arizona considering they were just in the semifinals last year. If Arizona can find a way to string together wins to close the season, they have a case to beat out Purdue for the final one seed.
With one home game against Arizona State and road games against USC and UCLA to close the season, they will have to earn it. The matchup with UCLA in the final game is another “winner takes all” that could determine the regular season champion of the Pac-12. Can Arizona make that final push? Only time will tell once March Madness arrives.
Final Thoughts On March Madness Leaders
The 2023 March Madness tournament will be one of the most difficult brackets to fill out of any that we’ve seen. The four potential number-one seeds above are solid picks but even they have flaws that could have them heading home earlier than they would like. Upsets are bound to happen, those are a guarantee but where exactly will they happen?
That is the big question and right now, there is no “frontrunner” team that stands out above the rest. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not, that is what makes the beauty of March Madness so fun to watch. Anyone can beat anyone and no number-one seed is safe, especially this season. Get your brackets ready but keep a trash can close by because they might be done for by the end of the first or second round.