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Men’s College Basketball: NCAA Tourney Bracketology 6.0 (2023)

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Welcome to my sixth bracketology article this season. Selection Sunday is days away, so I will be providing one more bracketology article after this one before the bracket is unveiled on Sunday.

Here are the auto-bids thus far

  • Gonzaga (West Coast)
  • College of Charleston (Colonial)
  • Oral Roberts (Summit)
  • Drake (MVC)
  • Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt)
  • Furman (Southern)
  • Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun)
  • UNC-Asheville (Big South)
  • Northern Kentucky (Horizon)
  • Fairleigh-Dickinson (Northeast)
  • Southeast Missouri State (Ohio Valley)

Otherwise here are my at-large locks entering power conference tournament play.

ACC

In: Virginia, Miami, Duke
Looking Good: Pittsburgh, N.C. State
Bubble: Clemson, UNC

Big 12

In: Kansas, Texas, Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, TCU
Looking Good: West Virginia
Bubble: Oklahoma State

Big East

In: Marquette, Xavier, Creighton, UConn
Looking Good: Providence

Big Ten

In: Purdue, Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan State, Maryland, Illinois, Iowa
Bubble: Rutgers, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan

Pac 12

In: UCLA, Arizona
Looking Good: USC
Bubble: Arizona State

SEC

In: Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas
Looking Good: Auburn, Arkansas
Bubble: Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

Mid-Major

In: Houston, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State, Memphis, Boise State, Florida Atlantic
Bubble: Utah State, Nevada

You’d think that with Selection Sunday less than a week away, there would be a lot more teams that have locked up their at-large bid. But there is a thin line between a 7 and 11 seed right now and any few losses could put a team at risk. Especially if any of the bubble teams make runs, or there are a couple of bid stealers, some teams might still be at risk which seems good right now.

In terms of futures, there isn’t too much I am excited about. Right now I am comfortable sitting and waiting for the bracket to come out, to see what different paths are offered to different teams before deciding. If I had to pick a blind Final Four right now, however, I would probably go with Houston, UConn, Creighton, and Texas A&M. Those four teams I simply trust right now and are consistent enough to play with the best of ‘em, winning four straight games. 

Let’s get to the seeding

The Seeding

1 Seeds

  • Houston
  • Alabama
  • Kansas
  • Purdue

2 Seeds

  • UCLA
  • Texas
  • Baylor
  • Arizona

3 Seeds

  • Tennessee
  • Kansas State
  • Marquette
  • Gonzaga

4 Seeds

  • Indiana
  • UConn
  • Virginia
  • Xavier

5 Seeds

  • Creighton
  • San Diego State
  • TCU
  • Miami

6 Seeds

  • Saint Mary’s
  • Kentucky
  • Iowa State
  • Texas A&M

7 Seeds

  • Maryland
  • Michigan State
  • Northwestern
  • Illinois

8 Seeds

  • Iowa
  • Florida Atlantic
  • Missouri
  • Duke

9 Seeds

  • Arkansas
  • Memphis
  • Auburn
  • Providence

10 Seeds

  • North Carolina State
  • USC
  • Boise State
  • West Virginia

11 Seeds

  • Nevada
  • Pittsburgh
  • Utah State*
  • Wisconsin*
  • Mississippi State*
  • Rutgers*

12 Seeds

  • Oral Roberts (Summit)
  • College of Charleston (Colonial)
  • VCU(A10)
  • Drake (MVC)

13 Seeds

  • Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt)
  • Kent State (MAC)
  • Kennesaw State (ASun)
  • Utah Valley  (WAC)

14 Seeds

  • Yale (Ivy)
  • Furman (Southern)
  • Montana State (Big Sky) 
  • UC Irvine (Big West) 

15 Seeds

  • Northern Kentucky (Horizon)
  • Iona (MAAC)
  • UNC-Asheville (Big South)
  • Colgate (Patriot)

16 Seeds

  • Vermont (AE)
  • Southeast Missouri State (OVC)
  • Norfolk State* (MEAC)
  • Texas A&M Corpus Christi* (Southland)
  • Grambling State* (SWAC)
  • Fairleigh Dickinson* (Northeast)

*Play-in games

Bold = Conference Champions

First Four Out

  • Penn State
  • Arizona State
  • Michigan
  • North Carolina

Next Four Out

  • Oklahoma State
  • Oregon
  • Clemson
  • New Mexico

Bracket

South (Louisville)

1 Houston
16 Grambling State/Fairleigh Dickinson

8 Duke
9 Missouri

5 Creighton
12 Drake

4 Indiana
13 Louisiana-Lafayette

6 Iowa State
11 Nevada

3 Tennessee
14 UC Irvine

7 Northwestern
10 West Virginia

2 Arizona
15 Northern Kentucky

West (Las Vegas)

1 Purdue
16 Vermont

8 Florida Atlantic
9 Providence

5 Miami
12 Oral Roberts

4 Xavier
13 Utah Valley

6 Saint Mary’s
11 Mississippi State/Wisconsin

3  Gonzaga
14 Yale

7 Illinois
10 North Carolina State

2 UCLA
15 Colgate

Midwest (Kansas City)

1 Kansas
16 Southeast Missouri State

8 Arkansas
9 Auburn

5 TCU
12 College of Charleston

4 UConn
13 Kennesaw State

6 Maryland
11 Pittsburgh

3 Marquette
14 Furman

7 Kentucky
10 USC

2 Texas
15 UNC-Asheville 

East (New York)

1 Alabama
16 Norfolk State/TAMCC

8 Iowa
9 Memphis

5 San Diego State
12 VCU

4 Virginia
13 Kent State

6 Texas A&M
11 Utah State/Rutgers

3 Kansas State
14 Montana State

7 Michigan State
10 Boise State

2 Baylor
15 Iona

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Ryan Coleman is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Ryan, check out his archive.