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We are still a long way away from the 2022-23 college basketball season and still have no idea who will be on everyone’s roster when the season starts, as there are well over 1,000 players currently in the transfer portal.
However, that is not stopping ESPN’s Joe Lunardi from putting out his first NCAA Tournament Bracketology for 2023.
Lunardi notes that it’s a “fool’s errand” to compile a bracket this far out, but since he started doing an April bracket in 2005, Lunardi averages two No. 1 seeds landing in the same spot on Selection Sunday and about 20 at-large teams making the field.
This is simply a starting point as we wait for November to roll around when all of the fun starts again.
Looking ahead to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the regionals will be held in Las Vegas (West), Kansas City (Midwest), New York (East), and Louisville (South) with it all coming to an end in Houston at NRG Stadium for the Final Four.
As for the seeding, Lunardi has the Kentucky Wildcats as the No. 1 overall seed. They’re in the South Region and would potentially play Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Louisville.
The other No. 1 seeds include the Houston Cougars (Midwest), Baylor Bears (East), and UCLA Bruins (West).
The reigning National Champion Kansas Jayhawks are projected as a 2 seed, joining Kentucky in the South region.
If the Cats were to play the highest seed each round, here would be their path to the Final Four.
Round of 64: SIU Edwardsville or Texas Southern
Round of 32: Iowa Hawkeyes
Sweet 16: Purdue Boilermakers
Elite Eight: Kansas Jayhawks
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Looking at the conference breakdown, the SEC is tied with the Big Ten and Big 12 for most teams in the field with all three conferences getting 7 teams in.
The other six SEC teams making the field include the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-seed), Tennessee Volunteers (4-seed), Alabama Crimson Tide (5-seed), Auburn Tigers (5-seed), Texas A&M Aggies (6-seed), and Florida Gators (11-seed).
You can check out Lunardi’s full Bracketology here.