When the college basketball season began in November, 350 college basketball teams had one goal: to reach the Final Four in New Orleans with a chance to play in the national championship. Qualifying Sunday passed, as did the first four games. The field has been reduced to its traditional number of 64 teams as the first round is due to start on Thursday, leaving time for picks running out.
Our specialists have spent months preparing for this very moment. We’ve broken down the feed, watched the top players, and have all the information you need to help you progress through your team bracket from #1 seed to #16 seed.
Parentheses are running out! Fill in your brackets in your pools and enter for a chance to win a trip to the 2023Ⓡ Men’s Final Four.
Below, our team has filled in their expert brackets, so consider this a cheat sheet to help you win your pool. Copy whatever you want, we won’t judge. We are here to serve you and our knowledge is your knowledge. Just know that if we are right and make the right choice, we are fully responsible and want recognition, and if not, we do not want to blame. These are the rules.
Okay, to the brackets.
Gary Parrish
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Yes, once again, I choose Gonzaga to win the national title. Yes, I know, I have done this several times before and it has never worked. But that doesn’t mean it’s wrong or stupid to play Zags again this season. Just because they haven’t done it yet doesn’t mean they can’t do it. It just means they haven’t done it yet, but I sincerely believe that this will change early next month. Gonzaga is elite on offense, elite on defense and has top-notch talent. Zags did just that this year.
Matt Norlander
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Where will we see chaos this year? It’s inevitable, you know. Beautiful grid of 68 teams with almost endless possibilities. And here I put Murray State and Vermont in the second weekend. Call me romantic. But the two teams have won 58-7 in aggregate and have won 41 of their last 42 games. I’ll go hot, and yes, that means Murray State will play and beat Kentucky in the second round, a la Loyola Chicago will do the same to Illinois a year ago. (Obviously, both mid-majors will never be able to find a big brother on staff to schedule them.) As for my Final Four, Kansas has the easiest route by far. This is the default choice. All season long, I’ve been arguing that the No. 4 teams are good enough to get to New Orleans.
I’ll stick with that and pick Illinois’ regular season Big Ten co-champions, which is one of the top four seeds in recent memory. On the left side of the grid, a Gonzaga-Duke regional final in San Francisco would be phenomenal. Gonzaga is rated as the best team in the sport so I’ll pick 1-2 Drew Timm and Chet Holmgren to do that, then I’ll stick with my pre-season national title pick, Purdue, to come out of what I expect to be bustling and interesting eastern region. Gonzaga is my pick to win the national championship because Holmgren is 7-1 paired with Timme – the best 1-2 in college hoops. Kansas to the title game is more of a profit game, plus KU has a top 5 guy in Ochai Agbaji.
Mark Few finally did it and made history. There were wonderful Gonzaga teams – even better than this one. But it’s finally a year. GU has an offensive and defensive ceiling to get there and his experience, length and improved athleticism prove to be enough. The Bulldogs wrote an amazing college sports rescue story after losing one game a year ago.
Kyle Boone
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I’m not going to risk picking first overall to win it all, but after Gonzaga’s loss to Baylor in the title game last season – especially after he lost – it really does feel like the Bulldogs are losing. some believers. It absolutely shouldn’t be like that. This team is just as capable of winning it all as last year’s team, which went 31-1 to finish second in the country. His defensive play isn’t as strong as it was a year ago, but his frontcourt play is even better, led by footwork king Drew Timmy and 7-foot teammate Chet Holmgren, the frontrunner for this year’s No. 1 pick. .
David Cobb
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For a team as dominant as Arizona, the Wildcats have been somewhat under the radar this season due to their Pac-12s returning to mediocrity in 2021. However, make no mistake. Arizona is an elite college basketball team with all the qualities of a national champion. With a great under-the-rim duo of Christian Koloko and Umar Ballo, the Wildcats are testing the defense. However, it is in attack that they thrive. Freshman coach Tommy Lloyd implemented Gonzaga’s philosophy with ease, and he has a deep rotation of quality defenders and wingers to implement it, led by a potential lottery pick in Bennedict Mathurin.
Chip Patterson
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It’s not one of the most talented teams that Bill Self had in Kansas, but it’s supremely confident and getting in shape with full health and high-level basketball heading into the NCAA Tournament. I like their versatility in terms of how many different players can get buckets while still keeping a true alpha in Ochai Agbaji. Picking the Jayhawks in the Final Four was easier than pulling the trigger for the title, as I think Arizona and Kentucky are worthy contenders. Elsewhere in the grid, I have a couple of 1st seed upsets: Baylor is leaving the high variance team UNC early, and Gonzaga is losing in the Sweet 16 to UConn, who may be the most dangerous team outside of the top 4 seed. lines in the field.
Jerry Palm
Click to enlarge Bracket Jerry
It’s time for Gonzaga to finally finish the job. For the second consecutive season, the Bulldogs have taken first place overall. This time they are built differently. While Drew Timm remains, electric quarterback Jalen Suggs has been replaced by C Chet Holmgren, a rim guard who is changing the way the Zags defend. He can also score from anywhere on the floor. It won’t be an easy road. You can never win six games in this tournament. But I think that Zags will finally find their high point.
Kevin Flaherty
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Mark Few is dating his protégé Tommy Lloyd, and no one has seen such a performance from the Wildcats before the start of the season. But Gonzaga is a team on a mission after nearly beating the table a year ago and failing in the last leg. The Bulldogs’ fun game features the best point guard, the best NBA talent, and the best college basketball player. This Gonzaga team isn’t last year’s and has a few more flaws, but it’s certainly good enough to get the job done.
Dennis Dodd
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Pressure is a big ten. Nine teams – 64% of the league and 13% of the grid – participate in the NCAA Tournament. With this, there is a lot of pressure for many teams to make a dent. The “Big Ten” did not make it last year, despite the fact that nine teams also participated in it. And this despite the fact that the entire tournament was held in one of the conference capitals, Indianapolis. Ohio State lost to Oral Roberts. Perdue lost to North Texas. Illinois lost to Loyola-Chicago. And here we are again with six of the nine Big Ten teams seeded higher in their first games. I like Purdue and Iowa to get to New Orleans. The Boilers and Hawkeyes will advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1980. Iowa was a consistent scorer throughout the season, with him falling behind in 5th place. Perdue has been in the top 10 all season with a typically large front line. and Big Ten security guard Jaden Ivey. This helps the Big Ten look at themselves in the mirror. That doesn’t stop Arizona from winning it all in 1997, the 25th anniversary of Luth Olson’s championship team.
Josh Nagel
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After losing to North Carolina in Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game and failing to win the ACC Tournament, the Blue Devils have only one option to retire Coach K with success. That opportunity lies in this unsettled grouping that secures the Hall of Famer coach his sixth national title, and it looks like the NCAA Tournament Committee has paved the way for that opportunity. The Blue Devils have a relatively modest road to the Final Four, with the exception of top-seeded Gonzaga, whom they already beat 84-81 in November. If the Blue Devils end up in the Final Four, hope they get the job done and leave Coach K’s detractors furious.