Official 2023 bracket thread

[Phil]

I think I've seen them do this before - was UConn the only team to not be on video for the reveal? I love it! Best bracket they could have gotten. Better yet, the team will have been off for well over a week. It's a fresh, re-energized, refocused UConn that we will see. New season and new attitude. There is every reason to believe this team will be squaring up in the Final Four with a real chance to win it.

Louisville was not

 

[toadfoot]

I think I've seen them do this before - was UConn the only team to not be on video for the reveal? I love it! Best bracket they could have gotten. Better yet, the team will have been off for well over a week. It's a fresh, re-energized, refocused UConn that we will see. New season and new attitude. There is every reason to believe this team will be squaring up in the Final Four with a real chance to win it.

One of my all-time favorite sayings in sports was John Madden commenting on overly exuberant end zone celebrations, “act like you’ve been there before and expect to get there again”. That pretty much encapsulates my feelings about the video of teams hearing their name called

 

[Phil]

Yep, there’s not a single metric that VT was better than UConn. Now the Huskies need to prove it.

Last ten VT was better

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Want to see something sort of comical? Look at Philippou's ESPN article on the five teams opponents won't want to face in the tournament: VaTech; UConn; Tennessee; South Dakota State; Ohio State. 75% of the field have zero chance of facing any of them.

 

[UConnCat]

According to ESPN site, UConn will play Saturday and Monday (if they win). Times are not set.

 

[HuskyNan]

One of my all-time favorite sayings in sports was John Madden commenting on overly exuberant end zone celebrations, “act like you’ve been there before and expect to get there again”. That pretty much encapsulates my feelings about the video of teams hearing their name called

Top teams, maybe, although I don’t necessarily agree with your statement . The teams that don’t get a lot of coverage should enjoy their moment

 

[toadfoot]

Last ten VT was better

Both were 8-2.

 

[jaydee602]

Bet against Iowa this year at your peril. I'm a homer, but a realistic homer.

You have a friendly bracket with struggling Stanford as #1 & low scoring Duke as a #3. Good luck!

 

[Kaizen]

Anyone else seeing all 4 commenters in ESPN Show predicate UConn will be in final four this year?

 

[triaddukefan]

Bet against Iowa this year at your peril. I'm a homer, but a realistic homer.

If it's Duke vs Iowa in the Sweet 16. My monopoly money is on the team in Blue. The #1 Massey Offense vs the #2 Massey Defense

 

[jaydee602]

Top teams, maybe, although I don’t necessarily agree with your statement . The teams that don’t get a lot of coverage should enjoy their moment

Marquette's celebration was so heartwarming. They were projected as a bubble team & wound up as a #9 seed.
Celebrate, girls! You've earned it.

 

[mbr33ct]

There were so many good questions about the bracket that went unasked because they wasted so much time.

They were happy showing teams showoff their dance routine rather than actual Q&A. The three answers from the committee person didn't really answer much (she could have been talking about UConn as well when she defended Stanford as #1 seed).

...by the way, Carolyn and Carter are from the SEC, since some are wondering about their allegiance to the SEC and South Carolina.

 

[Carnac]

Poor VA Tech

Yeah....UConn can come out of that region.

 

[Rowdy831]

I'm looking over the top 4 lines and wondering who on each line is upset first.

4 line: It's tempting to pick on Villanova, but I'm going with Tennessee losing to Iowa St in the second round
3 line: This one's easy. ND goes down to Creighton in the second round
2 line: Utah will lose to LSU in the third, but I think Iowa will lose to either of Ga or FSU in the second round
1 line: This will be a disappointment, but I'm calling for Scar to lose to UCLA in the third round. It will be a massive upset and will suck a lot of the air out of the tournament. You heard it here first.

I agree Tennessee will be the first to go out. How did they get a 4 seed to begin with?
ND will be a sitting duck if Miles doesn't play.
Utah will upset Indiana to win the Region
SC will cruise to the final but NO other 1 seed will join them.

 

[triaddukefan]

You have a friendly bracket with struggling Stanford as #1 & low scoring Duke as a #3. Good luck!

Duke is low scoring vs teams that play some Defense. Iowa hasn't played defense since Stringer was the coach.

 

[Rowdy831]

Not an easy run for UCONN but certainly doable. What is better than a clear path and still be able to play with a little chip on your shoulder for being disrespected by the selection committee.

 

[arch]

UConn is never shown celebrating. I personally am a fan of that. It shows the expectation is to be in the tourney and to be a top seed. I’m sure they do a private celebration but no need to air it.

Or they are home enjoying a couple of days off.

 

[jaydee602]

If Stanford was the last #1, why aren't we in their region?

We are actually the #6 ranked team, so we play #3 VA Tech. Iowa is ranked #5 & is in Stanford's region. The winner plays top ranked SC in the semis.

 

[Huskee11]

I am glad to not be in the Stanford region. Lots of teams there that are best to avoid - Florida State, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Louisville, even Ole Miss. I would be surprised if both Stanford and Iowa make it to the Elite Eight.

Hard to believe what an insipid mess ESPN made out of what could have been a very interesting show. How about we cut it from five people to three and leave out all the teams who are all doing the same thing?

I don`t get ND as a three seed but they are in with SC, so they won`t get to Dallas even if Miles makes a miraculous recovery.

Some interesting second round matchups. I like Michigan over LSU and Creighton over ND.

Very happy with UConn`s draw.

 

[Carnac]

Stanford # 1 means Iowa #2 in that bracket. I'd like to see that game!

This is going to be a fun tournament to watch. I can already see some very interesting matchups and potential upsets.

 

[browns]

I like Uconn's draw but I just can't see Stanford getting the last #1 over Uconn

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Or they are home enjoying a couple of days off.

They had practice today so unlikely.

 

[UcMiami]

I have a basic question.
I assumed the 61-68 teams were bubble teams in the 'play in' round. But it turns out 4 are bubble teams and 4 are conference winners. Seems strange to me. The conference winners then play the 2nd and 4th region #1 seeds while the bubble teams play the 1st and 3rd region #6 seeds. I feel sorry for the conference winners as they should be part of the NCAA 64 team bracket, and let the last eight teams in play each other for the right to be in the 64 team bracket.

I assume the 4 conference winners are the worst rated conference winners in the field so why aren't they playing the #1 and #2 region I seeds?
If the idea is to eliminate the really bad conference AQs, why not have all eight play in teams be those teams and eliminate 4 instead of two?

I still prefer all 32 AQs be in the field of 64. Oh well.

 

[Bills Fan]

Lobo also said "UConn number 2?" question to the decision.

Watching the 2nd hour of the ESPN show and Rebecca is afraid to say anything positive about us as it seems Peck is in bed with SC and Boston!

 

[Geesworld]

Tough section as usual. To get to VTech will takes hard work. With our high turnover rate, Ohio St Is the scariest. Baylor tough and physical could get ugly if refs allow them to play physical. I like our region and I like our chances