Bracketology 2023: 10 storylines to watch on Selection Sunday

1. Are the 1 seeds a lock?

This season has shown us that there isn’t necessarily one dominant team in the nation, though there’s certainly a fair few who have stood above the competition. At the moment, the four 1-seeds certainly look to be Alabama, Houston, Kansas, and Purdue, and these have been four of those most dominant teams this season. All four won their conference’s regular season titles and have been impressive when the games have mattered the most this season.

Are those four guaranteed to have those top seeds? Texas actually beat the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament title game in impressive fashion and their resume absolutely looks like that of a 1-seed with their 14 Quad 1 victories. Additionally, both Arizona and UCLA have been right there behind that pack of schools, with the Wildcats prevailing in Saturday’s Pac-12 Tournament final, though their NET sits at just 10. The four 1-seeds look solid, but it wouldn’t be the biggest shock to see Texas find their way onto the top line.

2. Where will the Committee place a red-hot Duke squad?

The Blue Devils didn’t look the part of a top contender early in the season and struggled early against a relatively weak ACC. However, things have changed in a major way for Jon Scheyer and these Blue Devils, who have now won 9 straight games to finish the season, including a convincing ACC Tournament championship as the 4-seed in the league. It’s been over a month since their last loss, a controversial road loss at Virginia, and this team is humming along as hot as any in the nation.

It’s quite possible to say that Duke has moved up at least 4 seeds due to this winning streak in recent weeks. The Committee might have placed the Blue Devils in the 8/9 game a few weeks ago, but now they look more like a 5 or 6-seed. It’ll be interesting to see how high they are willing to slot the ACC Tournament champions, who have worked their NET up to 16 and looked elite in their most recent performances.