This article covers predictions for the Final Four round games of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (i.e. March Madness). Tournament time is right around the corner on 4/1/23 and that means the best playoff in all of sports has reached the Final Four round. Time to get into a daily and weekly cadence of highlighting the best games to watch. Also determining the potential upsets lurking below the radar. Kansas won the 2022 National Championship over North Carolina (72-69) in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jayhawks rallied from a 16 point deficit in the second half, to get head coach Bill Self, his second national championship (2008, 2022). The brackets are wide open in 2023 and the next three weeks will determine if Kansas repeats as champs, or if a new team ascends to the title throne in Houston, Texas on 4/3/23.
2022-2023 Season Recap
Weird regular season to say the least. Mike Krzyzewski retired as head coach at Duke and handed his whistle to Jon Scheyer. North Carolina started the season ranked #1, began to crater in late November 2022 and didn’t make the big dance in 2023. Four teams held the #1 ranking during the regular season (North Carolina, Houston, Purdue, Alabama), but there was chaos in the Top 25 each week. Texas head coach Chris Beard was fired on 1/5/23. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim retired on 3/10/23 after spending 47 years leading the Orange, including a national championship in 2003.
2023 Elite 8 Round Picks
Elite 8 Round (games played on 3/26/23) – 0/2 correct thanks to a defective dartboard
2023 Overall Picks
First Four – 4/4
First Round -22/32
Second Round – 11/16
Sweet 16 Round – 4/8
Elite 8 Round – 1/4
Overall – 42/64 which is one standard deviation above the mean
2023 March Madness Final Four Games on 4/1/23
Semifinal #1 – Florida Atlantic (East Region #9 seed) vs. San Diego State (South Region #5 seed)
Current betting line – San Diego State favored by -3.0 points
Florida Atlantic Analysis
Owls advanced to their first Final Four in program history, with a tight win over Kansas State (79-76). Four starters scored 13+ points each in that game. A small lineup of seven guards, one forward and one center are one victory away from the national championship game…welcome to 2023. Sophomore guard Johnell Davis (17.3 PPG, 3.3 APG, 7.8 RPG), continues to jump off the statistics sheet in this tourney. The entire roster has no problem sharing the rock and scoring points as the stage gets bigger and bigger. Have won their four tournament games by an average of 4.8 points. Will that tight margin help or hurt the Owls in Houston? Head coach Dusty May’s coaching roots at the University of Indiana, clearly shows that “Hoosiers” is must watch viewing every March/April.
San Diego State Analysis
Aztecs also advanced to their first Final Four in program history, with a nail bitter over Creighton (57-56) in the Elite Eight. Furthest tournament run SDSU has made since the 2014 Sweet 16 team. Head coach Brian Dutcher spent eighteen seasons as an assistant coach for the Aztecs from 1999-2017. Since being named head coach prior to the 2017-2018 season, SDSU has made the Big Dance four out of those six seasons. Would have made the tourney in 2020, if the Covid-19 pandemic hadn’t hit.
Junior guard Lamont Butler (18 points, 2 rebounds) had a big game against Creighton. Senior guard Darrion Trammell has been the talking point all week. Trammell was questionably fouled with one second left, and hit one of two free throws to advance SDSU to Houston. Aztecs hit the boards with physicality and tenacity, and they limit turnovers. So far that recipe has been a tournament success.
Prediction: Hard game to predict with the topsy turvy nature of this Big Dance. SDSU weathers an outside shooting storm from Florida Atlantic and win by 4 points. Aztecs alumni Michael Cage and Kawhi Leonard will each be having a glass of Courvoisier after the win.
Semifinal #2 – Miami (Midwest Region #5 seed) vs. UConn (West Region #4 seed)
Current betting line – UConn favored by -5.5 points
Miami Analysis
Hurricanes are in their program’s first Final Four due to wearing down Texas (88-81) in the Elite Eight round. Head coach Jim Larranaga has his squad one step farther in the Big Dance, after a surprising run to the Elite Eight in 2022. Entire roster seems to lull their tournament opponents to sleep, and then they run both ends of the court and pour in basket after basket. Made Houston look like a JV team in the Sweet 16 and then outscored Texas in the second half (51-36), to punch their ticket to Houston. Rely heavily on five starters (four guards, one forward), who will be tested by Connecticut’s depth and athleticism. Can’t put my finger on the Hurricanes uniforms, but they are definitely unique.
UConn Analysis
Huskies have been a buzz saw during the first four rounds of this Big Dance, winning by an average of 20 points per game. Head coach Dan Hurley has emerged from his brother’s shadow (Bobby), and his squad is clicking in all phases of the game. Advanced to the Final Four by running a clinic against Gonzaga (82-54) in the Elite Eight. Sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins (17.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 APG), has the smoothest jump shot left in the tourney. Junior forward Adama Sanogo (20.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG), continues to move up the NBA Draft lottery and is a joy to watch work in the paint. Best team left in the brackets and they are hungry to improve.
Prediction: Lots of points in the first half. Connecticut bears down on defense in the second half and wins by 6+ points. Richard Hamilton and Kemba Walker text each other after the victory and toast their alma mater over a shot of Hennessey.
Same bat time, same bat channel in two days. I’ll review the results of the Final Four Round games and try again in the National Championship round of the 2023 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament.
Never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater in Vegas!
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This writer is good! I have a relative who is a professor at San Diego State and is totally oblivious to the basketball games,
It’s been 40 years since NC State and Jim Valvano, upset a heavily favored Houston squad in the national championship game. San Diego State isn’t done yet.