Now that the 2023 NCAA men's tournament bracket is set, it's time to start digging into this year's top contenders for the national championship.
An underdog could always emerge from the field, and plenty of words will be dedicated to Cinderella picks and teams on upset alert in the days to come. But for now, we're focused on the 10 best teams in this year's tournament, based on the full 68-team seed list released by the selection committee following the bracket announcement.
Each team's strengths and weaknesses, current momentum based on recent performance and path through the bracket were taken into account before an ultimate determination of buy or sell was made on its chances of winning it all this year.
Let's dive right in.
Alabama Crimson Tide
- Seed List Ranking: 1
The Alabama Crimson Tide secured the top overall spot on the seeding list by taking care of business in the SEC tournament, rattling off convincing wins against tournament-bound teams in Mississippi State (72-49), Missouri (72-61) and Texas A&M (82-63).
Freshman Brandon Miller has been the focal point of the offense all season, averaging 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while knocking down 40.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Mark Sears (12.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG) and Noah Clowney (10.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG) provide secondary scoring, while SEC Sixth Man of the Year Jahvon Quinerly (8.1 PPG, 3.8 APG) is a terrific floor general.
The Crimson Tide also rank third in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, and they lead the nation with 44.4 rebounds per game.
Their well-rounded roster makes them one of the clear favorites to win it all this year.
Buy or Sell: Buy
Arizona Wildcats
- Seed List Ranking: 7
The good: The Arizona Wildcats had a 9-2 record in Quad 1 games, including two wins against Pac-12 rival UCLA, a home win over Tennessee, and neutral-site victories over San Diego State, Creighton and Indiana.
The bad: The Wildcats had four Quad 2 losses, and four of their six losses on the season were against teams that missed the NCAA tournament.
They went just 3-5 in games when they allowed more than 80 points, so while they have one of the best offenses in the country, the key to their success will be holding their own on the defensive end of the floor.
From a matchup standpoint, 6'11" Ažuolas Tubelis (19.8 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and 7'0" Oumar Ballo (14.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG) can be a tough draw for undersized teams, and they limit opponents to just 45.9 percent shooting on two-point attempts thanks in large part to their size advantage.
This might be the most inconsistent second seed in the field, but it would be foolish to say they are not a legitimate title contender if everything is clicking and they are engaged on the defensive end.
Buy or Sell: Buy