It’s only two days before the start of the college football season and that can mean only one thing – it’s time for a never-too-early look at Bracketology. March Madness is a few months away, but we have a pre-preseason projection of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and the field of 68.
The vast majority of team schedules have not released yet, so there may be some bracketing errors based on games played against possible opponents, but I am not checking for that in this bracket. That will be resolved in the preseason bracket projection in November before the season starts.
But for now, here is a look at the top seeds in the never-too-early first bracket projection for the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Bracketology top seeds
Check out Palm’s latest bracket, full field of 68 and all the teams on the bubble on the Bracketology hub.
No. 1 overall seed: Gonzaga (West) – The Zags will be trying to secure a No. 1 seed for the fifth time in the last six NCAA Tournaments. They are bolstered by the return of six of their top eight scorers, including 2022 second team All-American Drew Timme. They have also added the 2022 Southern Conference Player of the Year Malachi Smith from Chattanooga. Look for Gonzaga to dominate the West Coast Conference again this season.
No. 2 overall seed: Houston (Midwest) – Houston fell one win short of its second consecutive Final Four last season without the services of two of its key players, Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark. They will return this season to bolster another strong lineup that will be a difficult matchup for everyone. Kelvin Sampson has turned this program into something to be reckoned with and it will be interesting to see how the Cougars fare when they join the Big 12.
No. 3 overall seed: North Carolina (East) – The Tar Heels had to get hot at the end of the regular season just to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. They entered as a No. 8 seed and stayed hot, falling just short of the national championship in a loss to Kansas in the title game. Almost everyone is back to give it another go. I’m a little leery of teams that made big runs from low seeds, even if many players return. UCLA went from the First Four to the Final Four in 2021 and was in everyone’s top four the following season. The Bruins ended up a No. 4 seed, which is a pretty reasonable jump. North Carolina should move up pretty far from last season…
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