2023 NCAA Tournament Bracketology Predictions

Bruce Marshall Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

We are just one week away from the start of the earliest conference tournaments, so we do brief previews of many of the mid-major conference tourneys this week while saving the major conferences for next week.  As always, dates and locales are included for each tourney as well as last year’s postseason entrants and a look at the favored teams for this year, with clear favorites noted in CAPS.

BIG WEST

Tourney begins March 7 at Dollar Loan Center, Henderson, NV.  Final March 11.

Last Year

• NCAA - Cal State Fullerton
• NIT - Long Beach State

Top Contenders

• UC Irvine
• UC Santa Barbara
• Hawaii
• UC Riverside

COLONIAL

Tourney begins March 3 at Entertainment & Sports Arena, Washington, D.C. (home court of WNBA Mystics and G-League Go-Go).

Last Year

• NCAA - Delaware
• NIT - Towson
• CBI - NC Wilmington

Top Contenders

• Charleston
• Hofstra
• UNC-Wilmington
• Towson

HORIZON

Tourney begins February 28 at campus sites.  Semis and Final at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis, IN (home court of IUPUI).

Last Year

• NCAA - Wright State

Top Contenders

• Youngstown State
• Cleveland State
• Milwaukee
• Northern Kentucky

IVY

Tourney begins March 11 at Jadwin Gym, Princeton, NJ (home court of Princeton). Only top four teams qualify.  Final March 11.

Last Year

• NCAA - Yale
• NIT - Princeton

Top Contenders

• Yale
• Princeton
• Penn 

MID-AMERICAN

Tourney begins March 9 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland (home court of NBA Cavs).

Last Year

• NCAA - Akron
• NIT - Toledo
• CBI - Ohio
• Basketball Classic - Kent State

Top Contenders

• Toledo
• Akron
• Kent State
• Ball State

MISSOURI VALLEY

Tourney (“Arch Madness”) begins March 2 at Enterprise Center, St Louis, MO (home of NHL Blues). Final March 5.

Last Year

• NCAA - Loyola Chicago
• NIT - Northern Iowa
• NIT - Missouri State
• CBI - Drake

Top Contenders

• Drake Bradley
• Southern Illinois
• Belmont
• Indiana State

OHIO VALLEY

Tourney begins March 1 at Ford Center, Evansville, IN.  Final March 4.

Last Year

• NCAA - Murray State
• NIT - Belmont

Top Contenders

• Morehead State
• UT-Martin
• SE Missouri State

SOUTHERN

Tourney begins March 3 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville, NC. Final March 6. 

Last Year

• NCAA - Chattanooga
• CBI - NC Greensboro
• CBI - VMI

Top Contenders

• Samford
• Furman
• NC-Greensboro

SUMMIT

Tourney begins March 3 at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Sioux Falls, SD.  Final March 7

Last Year

• NCAA - South Dakota State

Top Contenders

• Oral Roberts
• South Dakota State
• North Dakota

SUN BELT

Tourney begins February 28 at Pensacola Bay Center, Pensacola, FL.  Final March 6. 

Last Year

• NCAA - Georgia State
• NIT - Texas State
• CBA - Troy
• Basketball Classic - Coastal Carolina
• Basketball Classic - South Alabama
• Basketball Classic - Appalachian State

Top Contenders

• Southern Miss
• Marshall
• UL-Lafayette
• James Madison

WEST COAST

Tourney begins March 2 at Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, NV. Final March 7.

Last Year

• NCAA - Gonzaga
• NCAA - Saint Mary’s
• NCAA - San Francisco
• NIT - BYU
• NIT - Santa Clara

Top Contenders

• Saint Mary’s
• Gonzaga
• Santa Clara 

Bracketology Predictions

2023 NCAA Tournament Futures Odds

Bracketology Seed Predictions

Projections as of February 23, 2023

1- Alabama, Kansas, Houston, UCLA 2-Arizona,  Virginia, Purdue, Texas
3- Gonzaga, Kansas State, Tennessee, Miami-Fla
4- Baylor, Marquette, Saint Mary’s, Northwestern
5-Xavier, Iowa State, UConn, Indiana 
6-Providence, Creighton, Texas A&M, San Diego State 
7-Duke, Pitt, Illinois, NC State
8-Maryland, Kentucky, Michigan State, Arkansas
9-Auburn, Boise State, Florida Atlantic, TCU
10-Oral Roberts, Rutgers, Missouri, Iowa
11-Nevada, USC, Charleston, Memphis
12-Drake, VCU,  Clemson*, Utah State*, West Virginia*, Oklahoma State*
13-Southern Miss, Toledo, Utah valley, Eastern Washington
14-Colgate, Yale, UC Irvine, Liberty
15-UNC-Asheville, Samford, Iona, Youngstown State
16- Morehead State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Alcorn State*, Vermont*, Fairleigh Dickinson*, Howard*  

* Play-in game participants at First Four in Dayton

Updated on 12/26/2024

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Last Four In...

1. Clemson
2. Utah State
3. Oklahoma State
4. West Virginia

First Four Out...

1. North Carolina
2. Michigan
3. Mississippi State
4. Wisconsin

Next Four Out...

1. New Mexico
2. Dayton
3. North Texas
4. Penn State

Bracketology Conference Bid Predictions

Big Ten - 8
Big 12 - 8
SEC - 7
ACC - 6
Big East - 5
Mountain West - 4
Pac 12 - 3
American - 2
West Coast - 2

In this week: Utah State, Toledo, UC Irvine, Samford
Out this week: Mississippi State, Kent State, UC Santa Barbara, Furman

Biggest Movers Since Last Update:

February 16 - Bracketology Update

• Kentucky (12 to 8)
• Northwestern  (7 to 4)
• Iowa (7 to 10)
• Texas A&M (8 to 6)
• Boise State (11 to 9)
• Providence (4 to 6), Iowa (7 to 9)
• Clemson (10 to 12)
• Oklahoma State (10 to 12)
• Utah State (out to 12)
• Mississippi State (12 to out)

Bruce Marshall

Bruce's unique and colorful brand of football and basketball analysis, as well as informed commentary on the national and international sports scene, has made him an in-demand guest for many years on numerous sports talk radio and TV shows across the country. Bruce's vast array of editorial work has also been featured in VegasInsider, along with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and New York Post. Bruce, who is also in the midst of several book projects, combines all of his work while splitting time between Celebration, Florida and Henderson, Nevada. More from Bruce Marshall