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Bracketology 2023 projected field: Arizona, Tennessee rise to top of field

By Jason Burgess

Mar 17, 2022; San Diego, CA, USA; A general view of the March Madness logo at center court before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2022; San Diego, CA, USA; A general view of the March Madness logo at center court before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bracketology Mitchell Saxen #11 of the Saint Marys Gaels (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Bracketology Mitchell Saxen #11 of the Saint Marys Gaels (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) /

South Region (Louisville)

(1) Purdue vs. (16) SIU-Edwardsville/Grambling
(8) Arkansas vs. (9) Clemson
(5) Saint Mary’s vs. (12) Dayton
(4) Marquette vs. (13) Sam Houston State
(6) Indiana vs. (11) West Virginia
(3) Xavier vs. (14) Colgate
(7) New Mexico vs. (10) Maryland
(2) Texas vs. (15) Radford

Purdue once again sits atop the South Regional bracket with eyes toward Louisville. The Boilermakers are 11-1 over the first two quads with eight quad 1 wins, which is tied with Kansas for the most in the country. With a metric average of 3.8 prior to their dismantling of Michigan State on Sunday, others hoping to land the No. 1 overall seed might need the Boilermakers to stumble a couple of times over the next six weeks.

The rest of the region is littered with some of the hottest teams in the country. Saint Mary’s, Xavier, Marquette, and New Mexico have gone a combined 33-7 over their last 10 games, not exactly a cakewalk for the top seed. Add to that, full-strength teams like Indiana, Clemson, and potentially Arkansas, and there are plenty of potential pitfalls for Purdue. This won’t be a simple two-step to Texas for the Boilermakers.

Speaking of getting healthy, there is one team I am keeping an eye on as a potential sleeper. The Dayton Flyers came into this season with high expectations, but they’ve been hit with injury roadblock after injury roadblock. With six weeks to go until Selection Sunday, how well the Flyers finish will be something to watch. The predictive metrics show the same thoughts I have when it comes to the Flyers, they’re average is 47 spots higher than their results metrics coming into Sunday’s action.

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