With Championship Week underway in college basketball, fans are eagerly anticipating the final bracketology predictions for the NCAA Tournament. The bubble-watch is in full effect as several teams are fighting to secure a bid in the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
In this bracketology prediction, let’s take a closer look at which schools are the last four in, the first four out, and who the No. 1 seeds might be in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
According to this prediction, the last four teams to make it into the NCAA Tournament are Utah State, Nevada, Rutgers, and Oklahoma State. However, the most debated team in the committee’s chambers is Utah State. Although they have only seven losses on the season, which is fewer than most other bubble teams, two of those defeats were Quad 4 losses. Despite this, Utah State has a NET ranking of 18, which should be enough to secure their spot in the tourney. If they can knock off San Diego State on Saturday, it will all but guarantee their spot.
Nevada is another team from the Mountain West Conference that should make it to the NCAA Tournament with a NET ranking of 37 and no Quad 4 losses this season. Rutgers, although 19-14 on the season, has a win over Purdue earlier in the season, and with wins over Indiana and Northwestern, they have a strong case for inclusion. Oklahoma State, with six Quad 1 wins, is on the cut line, but their 15 losses could keep them on the outside looking in.
The first four teams to miss out on the NCAA Tournament are Vanderbilt, Clemson, NC State, and Mississippi State. While bubble teams rarely make it to the Final Four, the hope of making it to the NCAA Tournament is still the dream of every college basketball player. Unfortunately, these four teams haven’t done enough to make it to the Big Dance.
Vanderbilt has a chance to improve their resume with a win over the Texas A&M Aggies. The Commodores have defeated Kentucky twice in the last week-plus, but their NET ranking of 79 and a combined record of 10-3 versus Quad 3 and 4 opponents does not look good. Clemson missed their chance after getting crushed by Virginia on Friday night, and NC State hasn’t done enough to warrant inclusion in the NCAA Tournament, despite not having any bad losses on the season. Mississippi State was on the cusp but dropped to No. 49 in the NET rankings after losing to Alabama on Friday.
Regarding the No. 1 seeds, three of the four are all but set in stone. The Kansas Jayhawks, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Houston Cougars will most likely be locked into their spots atop the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens over the rest of the weekend. The top seed, however, is up for debate.
Kansas has 17 Quad 1 wins, but more losses than any other No. 1 seed mentioned. Houston is atop the NET rankings and has an undefeated record in neutral site games and on the road. Alabama still has two games ahead of them, assuming they defeat the Missouri Tigers in today’s SEC Semifinal matchup. If they falter, the Tide may lose their chance at being the No. 1 overall seed when the brackets come out on Sunday.
The final No. 1 seed is a toss-up between UCLA and Purdue. For now, the Boilermakers hold a slight edge over the Bruins with 10 Quad 1 wins and a 5-0 record on a neutral floor. However, if UCLA wins out and Purdue falls on either Saturday or Sunday, the Bruins could secure the final No. 1 seed.
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