NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking all 16 Second Round matchups
By Joey Loose
4. 3 Baylor vs. 6 Creighton
When you match them up with other programs, it’s hard to find a more talented starting five than what Creighton will jog onto the court. Ryan Kalkbrenner was dominant on offense in a 72-63 win against NC State, and a significant portion of the Bluejays’ struggles this season came when he missed time three months ago. Throw in great pieces like Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander and there’s a lot of firepower on both sides of the ball for a team that feels a little low at the 6-seed.
When you match them up with other programs, it’s hard to a find a more talented backcourt than what Baylor puts out there. Jalen Bridges is a talented forward, but it’s all about LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, and Keyonte George for the Bears. They did more than enough in a 74-56 win against UC Santa Barbara, though they’ll need better outside shooting to take care of Creighton. The Bears played much better defense on Friday than to end the regular season, but will that continue against these Bluejays?
3. 2 Texas vs. 10 Penn State
No other team has come out of nowhere more than Penn State since the calendar flipped to March, racking up wins against their Big Ten foes and nearly pulling out a Big Ten Tournament title as the 10-seed. That same seed in the Big Dance, they secured a 76-59 opening-round win over Texas A&M with outstanding performances from All-American Jalen Pickett and sharpshooter Andrew Funk, who had eight 3-pointers in the win. It’s exactly the kind of offensive performance they’ll need moving forward to keep this run going.
Texas lost head coach Chris Beard earlier in the season but have not lost focus, riding the energy of interim head coach Rodney Terry to a Big 12 Tournament title and an 81-61 win over Colgate to start the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns have seen impressive play from both Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice, with Rice putting his best foot forward at the right time of the year. Though Texas is a tough defensive squad, Pickett alone puts the Longhorns on upset alert and this might be one of the most exciting games of the opening weekend of the Tournament.