The 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket enters the Sweet 16 on Thursday with many blue blood programs already sent packing. Just four of the remaining 2023 March Madness Sweet 16 teams have won national championships before, and three of them reside in the West Region: UCLA, UConn and Arkansas. The fourth March Madness 2023 team in the West, Gonzaga, is the winningest program of this century and is making its eighth straight Sweet 16 appearance.
The other remaining school that has cut down the nets is Michigan State in the East Region. Should a program having championship experience impact your 2023 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 picks and 2023 March Madness predictions beyond this round? Before locking in any March Madness predictions, be sure to check out the 2023 NCAA bracket picks from the advanced computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulated the entire 2023 NCAA Tournament 10,000 times. It has absolutely crushed its March Madness picks, beating over 92% of all CBS Sports brackets two of the last four tournaments. The model also nailed three teams in the West and South Region Sweet 16 last year, including No. 5 seed Houston. It went a sizzling 23-9 straight up in the first round in 2023 and still has six of its eight Sweet 16 teams in the West and Midwest, as well as both teams in the championship matchup.
It knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds, including calling No. 13 seed Furman over No. 4 seed Virginia and No. 10 seed Penn State over No. 7 seed Texas A&M this season.
There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2023 March Madness picks. Now, the model has simulated every possible matchup for the remainder of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and revealed its updated bracket. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
Top 2023 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 picks
One team to back in 2023 March Madness brackets: No. 4 seed Tennessee advances past the FAU Owls in a East Region Sweet 16 matchup that will be played at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Having lost seven of their last 12 games entering the NCAA Tournament 2023 and having starting point guard Zakai Zeigler go down with a torn ACL, confidence wasn’t high in the Volunteers when March Madness 2023 began. However, the metrics painted a clear picture that this was one of the best defensive teams in the nation.
Tennessee held Louisiana to just 55 points in an opening-round win and followed that up by holding Duke to 52 points, 20 below its season average, to punch a ticket to the Sweet 16. Now the Volunteers will take an accomplished Owls squad, but FAU hasn’t played a game against a team that ranks top 25 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom. Tennessee ranks No. 1 in that category and is also top-three in scoring defense (57.2 ppg), field-goal percentage allowed (37.2%) and three-point percentage allowed (26.4%). Get more NCAA Tournament bracket picks here.
Another team to back in your 2023 NCAA Tournament picks: No. 7 seed Michigan State advances past No. 3 seed Kansas State in the other Sweet 16 matchup in the East. The Spartans have a knack for taking away the opponent’s best player. In the first round, they limited All-Pac-12 member Boogie Ellis of USC to six points on 3-of-12 shooting. Then, they held Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek of Marquette to just seven points versus six turnovers in the second round.
MSU should be able to contain KSU’s Markquis Nowell or Keyontae Johnson. From there, an efficient Michigan State offense that ranks eighth in three-point percentage (38.7%) and was among the top 40 nationally in protecting the ball (10.8 turnovers per game) should take over. No. 7 Michigan State is projected to upset No. 3 Kansas Stat,e as the model calls for the Spartans to win in nearly 60% of simulations. Get more bracket picks here.
How to make 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions
SportsLine’s model also has identified a shocker in the Final Four you need to see. With the model’s proven track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any 2023 March Madness bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament 2023 bracket? And which underdogs shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that beat over 92% of bracket players two of the last four years and has called 20 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds.
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