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 Final Four Picks
Final Four Round (games played on 4/1/23) – 2/2 correct thanks to San Diego State and UConn
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
Final Four Round – 2/2
Overall – 44/66 which is one standard deviation above the mean
2023 March Madness National Championship Game on 4/3/23
National Championship – San Diego State (South Region #5 seed) vs. UConn (West Region #4 seed)
Current betting line – UConn favored by -7.0 points
San Diego State Analysis
Aztecs advanced to the national championship game with a scintillating win over Florida Atlantic (72-71). Junior guard Micah Parrish sank the winning jump shot as time expired, and the Mountain West Conference has their first team playing for the big enchilada. SDSU is currently averaging 67.6 PPG and allowing 60.0 PPG in the Big Dance. Three guards (Matt Bradley, Darrion Trammell, Lamont Butler), will continue to push tempo and try to dictate the flow of the game. Aztecs strength is their defensive ability to switch individual player matchups at a moments notice. Florida Atlantic struggled with that strategy during the last five minutes of game time. Rematch of the 2011 Sweet 16 game that Connecticut won (74-67).
UConn Analysis
Huskies had a workmanlike victory over Miami (72-59). Junior forward Adama Sanogo added three point shooting to his tool box in that game, and is the clubhouse leader to win Most Outstanding Player. UConn has been running a steady offense, but their defense is making opponents gameplans implode. UConn is currently averaging 79.8 PPG and allowing 59.2 PPG in this tournament. Freshman forward Alex Karaban (5.6 RPG) and center Donovan Clingan (5.4 RPG) have matured quickly in March and April. Sophomore Jordan Hawkins is due to bounce back if he’s 100% healthy. Andre Jackson Jr. will continue to emulate Grant Hill’s 1991 championship game alley-oop.
Prediction: Has been forty years since NC State beat a heavily favored Houston team to win the national championship to create one shining moment. That won’t happen tonight as a close game for twenty minutes, turns into a Huskies highlight show in the second half. UConn wins by 5+ points to get their fifth national championship title and enter the dynasty discussion with UCLA, Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke and Indiana.
Same bat time, same bat channel in one week. I’ll review the results of the National Championship round of the 2023 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament and recap how accurate or inaccurate all of my predictions ended up.
Never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater in Vegas!
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