Bracketology 2023 projected field: Alabama joins the No. 1 seeds

East Region (New York)

(1) Alabama vs.(16) North Carolina Central
(8) Maryland vs. (9) Creighton
(5) Baylor vs. (12) Kent State
(4) Virginia vs. (13) Iona
(6) Auburn vs. (11) Virginia Tech/Arizona State
(3) Iowa State vs. (14) SIU-Edwardsville
(7) North Carolina vs. (10) Michigan State
(2) UConn vs. (15) Longwood

There may not be a hotter team in the country than Nate Oats’ 15-2 Crimson Tide of Alabama. They’ve lost just once, to Gonzaga since being beaten by UConn on Black Friday. They have five quad 1 wins, hold the fourth-best strength of schedule and sit in the top five in all five metrics listed on the team sheets. They’re a team that plays fast, sitting 4th in adjusted tempo, but put the clamps on their opponents defensively with top 15 rankings in two-point defense, three-point defense, and overall defensive efficiency. This is a scary proposition when you have to keep up with a team that averages over 84 points per game and that’s why they are the No. seed in the East region.

The East could be considered the Blue Blood region with North Carolina, Michigan State, Virginia, and Baylor all finding themselves here. Add to those three, double-digit seeds that can be dangerous in Kent State and Iona who have combined for a 26-8 record, and the Golden Flashes ranking 30th in SOR, and this region could have a lot of ebbs and flows for the Crimson Tide.

The other team I am watching in this region is the No. 9 seed Creighton Bluejays. The 10-8 Bluejays are coming off a tough week losing road games at UConn and Xavier but then rebounded by knocking off Providence. Prior to that, they had won three straight by an average of just under 20 points. For a team that despite the eight losses, ranks 19th on KenPom and the predictive metrics love the Bluejays having them ranked inside the top 20.