Cover photo taken from AL.com.
Welcome back to the Madness. The 2023 NCAA Tournament is upon us with 68 teams and 67 incredible games ahead to crown a champion. The 2022-23 college basketball season has been one of the most unique in recent memory, as the field appears to be as wide open as it has ever been. There isn’t necessarily a clear favorite in this tournament, so March Madness is sure to live up to its name in the coming weeks. To preview the tournament, I’ll be breaking down the 2023 bracket region by region. This is the preview of the South: a region with a plethora of star power and loaded teams, including the one I think will win the national championship.
Meet the 1 Seed: 
Alabama Crimson Tide
Not only is Alabama a 1 seed for the first time in program history, but they are the top overall seed in the field of 68. Even if Houston had won Sunday afternoon’s AAC title game, I still think the Tide would have been in this position, considering they beat the Cougars early in the year. They have been at the top of college basketball since the start of the season, running through the non-conference before dominating the SEC en route to a regular season and tournament championship. It starts with Nate Oats, the head coach who continues to do incredible things in Tuscaloosa. Bama is in their third consecutive NCAA Tournament after getting a 2 seed in 2021 and a 6 seed last year. While neither of those teams made it as far as they would have liked, this is his best squad yet, featuring many of the same standouts from previous years. Guards Mark Sears and Jahvon Quinerly dictate the backcourt; a perfect pairing of scoring and passing. Sears ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game while Quinerly leads the Tide in assists with 3.8 per game. Freshman forward Noah Clowney has emerged as a young star with 10.1 points and 8 rebounds per game. But the real star of the show is freshman phenom Brandon Miller, a forward who is the most transcendent player in the sport and will be a top three pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Miller leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 19.6 and 8.3 per game, respectfully. His athleticism is unmatched for his size at 6’9″ and 200 pounds. No matter where Alabama plays, he is the best player on the floor. He is the clear differentiator for this team. Miller has made headlines off the court for reasons that I won’t comment on, but it clearly hasn’t slowed down his play nor that of his teammates. Alabama has one of the best defenses in the nation, ranking third in efficiency according to KenPom, and play at a lightning-quick pace, ranking fourth in tempo according to KenPom. The Tide are rolling full steam ahead, and it’s hard to foresee any team in the tournament slowing them down.
Meet the Sleeper: 
#6 Creighton Blue Jays
Honorable Mentions: #7 Missouri, #12 College of Charleston, #13 Furman
If you told me six months ago that Creighton would be a “sleeper” in this tournament, I would be shocked. The Blue Jays were supposed to be one of the best teams in college basketball this season, being ranked 9th in the preseason AP Poll. However, a string of six consecutive losses in the non-conference absolutely doomed them. Still, they had a nice season in the rugged Big East and were able to punch their ticket to the dance as a six seed. This team shows why they had such high expectations this season in flashes; the talent is still there, it’s just a matter of them realizing their potential. Big man and two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner leads the way in the middle along with standout forward Arthur Kaluma. The backcourt is one of the strongest in the nation with SDSU transfer Baylor Scheierman alongside sophomores Trey Alexander and Ryan Nembhard. When the Jays are clicking, they are one of the toughest teams in the nation to stop on offense, and their defense is sneakily even better. When they’re on top of their game, this is one of the best teams in basketball. They’re just not on top of their game often enough to be considered a true contender in this tournament. But March is about hot streaks, and nobody will want to see Creighton if they get even the slightest bit warm.
Upset Waiting To Happen: #13 Furman over #4 Virginia
Honorable Mention: #10 Utah State over #7 Missouri
13s beating 4s are a very rare thing, but we’ve gotten some close calls in recent years. I’m not fully sold on this upset, but if you’re looking for some madness, I think you can find it in this matchup between Furman and UVA. The Paladins are a great story, winning the SoCon and getting to the dance for the first time in a whopping 43 years. They pour in a ton of points from the outside led by the high-scoring duo of Jalen Slawson and Mike Bothwell. Moreover, this Virginia team is over-seeded. They’re barely in KenPom’s top 35 and the top 30 of the NET. They’re a big name and a big brand, but they probably shouldn’t be a 4. Finally, UVA will be without forward Ben Vander Plas, one of they key cogs to their gameplan on both sides of the ball. They struggled mightily without him in the ACC Tournament, so it remains to be seen if they can function properly without him. The Cavaliers defense is still great and certainly not easy to score on, but if you can shoot over them and hit your threes, you can beat them. We saw UMBC do that in 2018 and Ohio do it in 2021. The blueprint to beating Tony Bennett’s packline defense has been laid out, it’s just a matter of the Dins following it.
Best Potential Games: #2 Arizona vs. #3 Baylor, #1 Alabama vs. #2 Arizona
Honorable Mention: #1 Alabama vs. #3 Baylor
It’s not wise to assume chalk in any region, but man these would be incredible matchups. Zona and Baylor have two of the best offenses in the country, and both excel offensively in different ways. The Wildcats use their athleticism and size to dominate down low while the Bears use their exquisite guard play to rip defenses apart. I would love to see this matchup, however I don’t think it’s going to happen. I put all my faith in Arizona last season just for them to go out with a whimper in the Sweet 16. This year, I see them losing in the second round. I have much higher hopes for Baylor.
Apropos of above when it comes to a potential Alabama-Arizona Regional Final. 1v2 Elite 8 games are becoming increasingly rare, but this would be one hell of a way to bring them back. Each team boasts a ridiculous offense, freak athletes, and is led by one of the sport’s best coaches. It would be appointment television and an instant classic in Louisville. But as I said before, I don’t see Zona getting here. I think it will be Alabama and Baylor fighting for a Final Four spot.
My Pick For Houston: #1 Alabama
Honorable Mentions: #2 Arizona, #3 Baylor, #6 Creighton
The Crimson Tide are simply the best team in the field of 68. They have the best player in the nation in Brandon Miller. Nate Oats is coaching like the premier HC in the sport. They are as balanced as any team I have seen. Their guard play is infallible, and their defense is soul-crushing for opposing teams. I don’t think any team in this tournament is capable of stopping Alabama’s offense for 48 minutes on any given night. This team has been primed for a title push since November, and I think they’re going to achieve what they set out to do. I have Alabama beating Baylor in the Regional Final, and they will be cutting down the nets in Houston when it’s all said and done.
Full Round of 64 Picks:
#1 Alabama over #16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: A national championship push has to start somewhere.
#9 West Virginia over #8 Maryland: The Terps have been the better team in their first season under Kevin Willard, but the Mountaineers are battle-tested after going through the Big 12 gauntlet for the last several months. I think their defense will make the difference and get them to the second round.
#5 San Diego State over #12 College of Charleston: The Cougars are perhaps the single trendiest upset pick in the first round, and for good reason. They won a staggering 31 games this year en route to the best season in program history. But I don’t know if they have what it takes to win a tournament game, especially against a team as defensively sound as the Aztecs are. The MWC better hope their champion doesn’t lose in the first round again.
#4 Virginia over #13 Furman: Although I think this is the most likely upset of the first round in this region, I can’t bring myself to pick the Paladins in this spot. UVA is typically one of the more sound teams in the field under Tony Bennett, and although they’re shorthanded, their packline defense and guard play should propel them to a hard-fought win over a potential Cinderella.
#6 Creighton over #11 NC State: These teams have each had weird seasons. The Wolfpack have been floating on the bubble for months and barely snuck into the dance. The Bluejays, on the other hand, were supposed to be one of the best teams in the nation, but dwelled in the shadow of several other teams in the Big East. Still, as I outlined above, Creighton has all the talent in the world to make a run in this tournament, and I think they’ll easily dispatch of an extremely average NC State team.
#3 Baylor over #14 UCSB: The Bears boast perhaps the best backcourt in the nation with LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, and Keyonte George. Scott Drew’s squad might not be as formidable as it was in the previous two tournaments, but I think they’re primed to make up for last year’s shortcomings. It’ll start with a fairly easy test against the Gauchos, who had a nice run to win the Big West.
#7 Missouri over #10 Utah State: Every metric in the world favors the Aggies in this game, and they are slight favorites to advance. But I saw the Tigers win several games against very good SEC teams in recent weeks, and I think their higher level of competition has prepared them for a potential second weekend push in this tournament. This one will be close from wire-to-wire, but I like Mizzou to make more plays late to advance.
#2 Arizona over #15 Princeton: Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats let me down in a huge way last year, but they are back and ready for another run. I think they’re more than capable of doing a lot of damage in this tournament, and it’ll start with what could be the biggest blowout of the first round against the Ivy League champs.
All stats taken from ESPN.
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