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Oral Roberts stunned college basketball when it made a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 as a No. 15 seed in 2021. The No. 12 seed Golden Eagles will try to prove their 2021 run was not a fluke when they face No. 5 seed Duke in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket on Thursday. Point guard Max Abmas scored 26 points in a 92-58 win over North Dakota State in the Summit League Tournament title game last week, upping his season average to 22.2 points per game. The Golden Eagles also have 7-foot-5 senior forward Connor Vanover, who began his career with Cal and Arkansas and have plenty of firepower entering the March Madness bracket 2023.
Abmas and Vanover will face one of the hottest teams in college basketball in the opening round, making it one of the trickiest 2023 March Madness matchups to pick. Should you advance Oral Roberts to pull off another upset with your 2023 NCAA bracket picks or roll with the blue bloods? Before making any 2023 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket picks from the proven 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 knows how to spot an upset as well. The same model has produced brackets that have nailed 18 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. It also nailed some massive upsets two years ago, including predicting the championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor and hitting Houston’s Midwest Region win even though the Cougars weren’t the No. 1 seed.
There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2023 March Madness pools. Now, with the 2023 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
2023 March Madness bracket games to watch
One 2023 March Madness matchup to keep an eye on: Iowa vs. Auburn in the Midwest region. The Hawkeyes are out to avenge an upset loss to Richmond in last year’s opening round of the Big Dance. They won the Big Ten Tournament a year ago, but did not experience the same level of success this season. Auburn underwhelmed as well, finishing seventh in the SEC and losing eight of its final 12 games. The Tigers prefer defensive battles, while Iowa is an offensive-minded team that likes to score in the 80s.
Also in the Midwest Region, Miami (FL) vs. Drake figures to be yet another pivotal 5 vs. 12 matchup. The Hurricanes made a surprising run to the Elite Eight last season and bring back an experienced roster that is hungry for another deep run. Junior guard Isaiah Wong leads four players scoring at least 13 points per game, while forward Norchad Omier is averaging a double-double. Drake is hoping to bust brackets in its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last three years. The Bulldogs are led by Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tucker DeVries, who is averaging nearly 19 points per game.
The third matchup to watch is also in the Midwest Regional, No. 7 seed Texas A&M against No. 10 seed Penn State. The Aggies started their season 6-5, but won 19 of their final 23 games to finish second in the SEC and runner-ups in the SEC Tournament. Sophomore guard Wade Taylor averaged 16.5 points and 4.0 assists for Texas A&M. Penn State is led by fifth-year senior Jalen Pickett, who averaged 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his second year with the Nittany Lions after spending his first three seasons as a star at Siena. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.
How to make 2023 NCAA bracket predictions
How far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella teams will make surprising runs through the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket? With the model’s track record of calling bracket-busting upsets, you’ll want to see which stunners it is calling this year before locking in any NCAA bracket picks.
So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2023? And which March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 18 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 92 percent of players two of the last four tournaments.
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