NCAA.com's Andy Katz has made his first NCAA men's basketball tournament predictions of 2023.
You can watch Andy run through them in the video above. We're also breaking them down here.
First, here's the bracket in table form (scroll to the right to view the full bracket). These are based on games through Sunday, Jan. 8.
2023 March Madness men's bracket predictions
SEED | MIDWEST | WEST | SOUTH | EAST |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Houston | Alabama | Kansas | Purdue |
16 | Southern/FDU | Eastern Washington | Norfolk State | TAMU-CC/Samford |
8 | Clemson | Saint Mary’s | Illinois | Baylor |
9 | Indiana | Maryland | Mississippi State | Northwestern |
5 | TCU | Providence | North Carolina | Ohio State |
12 | Creighton/Utah | Southern Miss. | Dayton | Kent State |
4 | Arkansas | Miami (Fla.) | Xavier | Virginia |
13 | Oral Roberts | Utah Valley | UCSB | Indiana State |
6 | Michigan State | Marquette | Wisconsin | Duke |
11 | Memphis | Arizona State | NC State/West Virginia | Florida Atlantic |
3 | Kansas State | Texas | Gonzaga | Iowa State |
14 | Siena | Longwood | Vermont | Princeton |
7 | Auburn | Missouri | San Diego State | Rutgers |
10 | Charleston | New Mexico | Pitt | Kentucky |
2 | UCLA | Arizona | Tennessee | UConn |
15 | American | Stetson | SIU Edwardsville | Milwaukee |
Let's take a closer look at Katz's predictions:
Top seeds in the NCAA bracket
The No. 1 seeds in these latest bracket predictions, in order of overall seeding, include Houston, Kansas, Purdue and Alabama. Of the four, Houston and Purdue are the only two to have ranked No. 1 in the AP poll this season with the Cougars currently holding the top spot after Purdue's undefeated season came to an end with a loss to Rutgers last week. Each of the top teams, with the exception of Alabama, have only one loss this season.
LATEST RANKINGS: Click or tap here to view the latest AP Top 25
Guard Marcus Sasser has been electric for Houston this season averaging 15.8 points per game and leading his team to 16-1 record. With a slew of unranked opponents on the horizon, there are no signs of the Cougars slowing down.
Kansas, ranked second in this week's AP poll, continues to be a strong force in the Big 12. The Jayhawks and forward Jalen Wilson, who leads his team in both scoring and rebounds averaging 20.2 points and 8.8 boards, headlined this week's Power 36 rankings. The team faces a tough January, however, as back-to-back meetings against Iowa State, Kansas State and TCU will show what this squad is really made of.
Purdue leads a powerhouse Big Ten conference. After a heartbreaking loss to Rutgers, the Boilermakers followed the defeat with a narrow victory against then-24-ranked Ohio State and unranked Penn State. Furthermore, center Zach Edey has cemented himself in the Player of the Year conversation averaging a double-double this season (21.9 points and 13.2 rebounds.)
The Tide keeps rollin'. Alabama has put together an impressive resume this year with wins against Michigan State, North Carolina, and Mississippi State and is the only team in the nation to have bested Houston.
Number of bids by conference
*These are conferences with multiple teams in Katz's bracket predictions
CONFERENCE | TOTAL TEAMS | TEAMS |
---|---|---|
Big Ten | 9 | Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State, Rutgers, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland, Wisconsin |
ACC | 7 | Virginia, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Pitt NC State |
Big 12 | 7 | Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia, Baylor |
SEC | 7 | Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Auburn, Missouri, Mississippi State, Kentucky |
Big East | 5 | UConn, Xavier, Providence, Marquette, Creighton |
Pac-12 | 4 | Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State, Utah |
AAC | 2 | Houston, Memphis |
Mountain West | 2 | San Diego State, New Mexico |
WCC | 2 | Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, |
The Big Ten leads the way with the most projected bids for this year's tournament, while a three-way tie for the second most bids between the Big 12, ACC and SEC prove that multiple conferences will be tough competition on the way to the ultimate prize.
RELATED: Andy Katz's 2023 March Madness men's bracket predictions one month into the season
Though the Big 12 is tied for second-most bids, this conference may be the strongest, taking one of the projected No. 1 seeds and three of the projected No. 3 seeds.
The ACC, SEC, Big East and Pac-12 feature a plethora of programs that are no stranger to the Big Dance.
New Mexico rounds out the Mountain West and was the last undefeated team DI men's basketball before losing two straight against Fresno State and UNLV.
Teams on the outside looking in
First four out:
- Wake Forest
- LSU
- Southern California
- Utah State
Since starting 9-0, Utah State has gone 4-3 with its most recent game resulting in an 82-59 beat-down against Boise State. Southern California began this season with a loss against FGCU and has struggled to find footing in a competitive Pac-12, while Wake Forest's 11-5 season has quietly landed the program at 4th in the ACC. None of these teams were featured in this week's Power 36 with LSU dropping out after being featured at the 21st spot last week. The Tigers slipped to 8th in the SEC after consecutive losses to Kentucky and Texas A&M.
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Andy Katz's field of 68
Here is Katz’s full seed list in order, from one through 68:
Rank | SEED -- Team | Conference |
---|---|
1 | 1 -- Houston | AAC |
2 | 1 -- Kansas | Big 12 |
3 | 1 -- Purdue | Big Ten |
4 | 1 -- Alabama | SEC |
5 | 2 -- Arizona | Pac-12 |
6 | 2 -- Tennessee | SEC |
7 | 2 -- UConn | Big East |
8 | 2 -- UCLA | Pac-12 |
9 | 3 -- Gonzaga | WCC |
10 | 3 -- Kansas State | Big 12 |
11 | 3 -- Texas | Big 12 |
12 | 3 -- Iowa State | Big 12 |
13 | 4 -- Xavier | Big East |
14 | 4 -- Virginia | ACC |
15 | 4 -- Miami (Fla.) | ACC |
16 | 4 -- Arkansas | SEC |
17 | 5 -- TCU | Big 12 |
18 | 5 -- North Carolina | ACC |
19 | 5 -- Ohio State | Big Ten |
20 | 5 -- Providence | Big East |
21 | 6 -- Duke | ACC |
22 | 6 -- Michigan State | Big Ten |
23 | 6 -- Wisconsin | Big Ten |
24 | 6 -- Marquette | Big East |
25 | 7 -- Rutgers | Big Ten |
26 | 7 -- San Diego State | MWC |
27 | 7 -- Auburn | SEC |
28 | 7 -- Missouri | SEC |
29 | 8 -- Saint Mary’s | WCC |
30 | 8 -- Baylor | Big 12 |
31 | 8 -- Clemson | ACC |
32 | 8 -- Illinois | Big Ten |
33 | 9 -- Indiana | Big Ten |
34 | 9 -- Northwestern | Big Ten |
35 | 9 -- Mississippi State | SEC |
36 | 9 -- Maryland | Big Ten |
37 | 10 -- Kentucky | SEC |
38 | 10 -- New Mexico | MWC |
39 | 10 -- Pitt | ACC |
40 | 10 -- College of Charleston | CAA |
41 | 11 -- Florida Atlantic | CUSA |
42 | 11 -- Arizona State | Pac-12 |
43 | 11 -- Memphis | AAC |
44 | 11 -- NC State | ACC |
45 | 11 -- West Virginia | Big 12 |
46 | 11 -- Creighton | Big East |
47 | 12 -- Utah | Pac-12 |
48 | 12 -- Dayton | A10 |
49 | 12-- Kent State | MAC |
50 | 12 -- Southern Miss | Sun Belt |
51 | 13 -- Oral Roberts |Summit |
52 | 13 -- Utah Valley | WAC |
53 | 13 -- UC Santa Barbara | Big West |
54 | 13 -- Indiana State | MVC |
55 | 14 -- Princeton | Ivy |
56 | 14 -- Siena | MAAC |
57 | 14 --Vermont | America East |
58 | 14 -- Longwood | Big South |
59 | 15 -- SIU Edwardsville | OVC |
60 | 15 -- Milwaukee |Horizon |
61 | 15 -- American | Patriot |
62 | 15 -- Stetson | ASUN |
63 | 16 -- Eastern Washington | Big Sky |
64 | 16 -- Norfolk State | MEAC |
65 | 16 -- Texas AM CC | Southland |
66 | 16 -- Samford | Southern |
67 | 16 -- Southern | SWAC |
68 | 16 -- FDU | NEC |
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