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Bracketology 2023: Latest field of 68 projections heading into March

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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SEC Basketball
Bracketology Arkansas Razorbacks guard Ricky Council IV Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /

Midwest Region (Kansas City)

(1) Kansas vs. (16) Grambling/Wagner
(8) Missouri vs. (9) NC State
(5) UConn vs. (12) Kent State
(4) Indiana vs. (13) Marshall
(6) Michigan State vs. (11) West Virginia
(3) Gonzaga vs. (14) Iona
(7) Arkansas vs. (10) Boise State
(2) Arizona vs. (15) UNC-Asheville

Gauntlet isn’t a strong enough word to describe the Big 12 this season, and the Kansas Jayhawks once again is the team to beat heading into the final week of the regular season. Just how good has Kansas been in the toughest conference in the country? They have 15 quad 1 wins which are not only the most in the country and five more than anyone else, it is six more than they have in the other three quads combined. As a result, KPI and SOR both have the defending champs as a top-2 team and the predictive metrics see them in the top six.

If the West Region highlights guard play, then the Midwest will certainly showcase the men in the middle. UConn’s Adama Sanogo, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, and Arizona’s duo of Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo are all in this region. While guard play is important, the big men in this region have the ability to put their teams on their backs if need be and carry them a long way.

The team I am watching in the Midwest is the Arkansas Razorbacks. Eric Musselman’s Hogs are back at full strength with the return of freshman Nick Smith. Even though the team has gone just 2-3 since his return, they have lost by an average of just five points, and the freshman has been getting his sea legs back averaging 20 points in 33 minutes in his last three games. Keep an eye on Arkansas as the season comes to a close and into the SEC Tournament, they could be rounding into form at the right time.

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