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NCAA Basketball: 5 early Bracketology storylines for 2022-23 season

By Jason Burgess

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /
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Bracketology Kansas Jayhawks Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Bracketology Kansas Jayhawks Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

1. There will be plenty of teams looking to be on the top-seed line

One thing that jumped out at me while getting ready for the season was the number of teams that could find themselves on the No. 1 seed line on Selection Sunday. I think anywhere from 10-12 teams could be under consideration for a No. 1 seed for a good portion of the season, perhaps even around Valentine’s Day. This is where the NCAA’s attempt to make the early part of the season more exciting becomes a big payday for fans because we now get to see some of these teams do battle in November.

The first month of the season will give us a good look at a bunch of these potential No. 1 seeds. On Nov. 11 Gonzaga will do battle with Michigan State on the USS Abraham Lincoln and the Champion’s Classic on Nov. 15 will pit Kentucky against those same Spartans and Duke taking on Kansas.

Although not in November, Baylor has a neutral-site game against Gonzaga on Dec. 2 in a rematch of the 2021 national title game. UCLA will have a potential matchup with Baylor in the Continental Tire Main Event on Nov. 20 and on the same day Kentucky travels to the west coast to take on Gonzaga. At the Maui Invitational, Arkansas has a second-day matchup with either Texas Tech or Creighton, and Chris Beard’s Texas Longhorns host Gonzaga on Nov. 16 and Creighton on Dec. 1. These are just a few of the early-year games between potential No. 1 seeds.

Obviously, only four teams will be No.1 seeds but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there are a larger number of teams under consideration deeper into the season than normal. The first 4-6 weeks of the season will be as important for these teams in resume building as any point in the season.

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