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The 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is here. The brackets have been developed, and the first round gets underway on Thursday, March 16. Alabama, who won the SEC Tournament, was awarded the No. 1 seed in the region. They don’t fully know their opponent yet, as Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Southeast Missouri State will have a play-in game to determine the region’s 16 seed.
2023 March Madness prediction: South Region
Despite having the overall tournament’s No. 1 seed, I don’t think Alabama heads to the Final Four out of this region. There are some heavy hitters in this group that have previous experience in March Madness. No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Baylor and No. 4 Virginia all have what it takes to put together a deep run in the tournament.
The Crimson Tide have +200 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the South region. The Wildcats, my pick to win the region, have +380 odds of winning. They won the Pac-12 Tournament in a close game against the UCLA Bruins. Arizona did struggle down the stretch of the season, but they have the size and the lineup depth to run with any of the other teams in this region. The Wildcats are led by forward Azuolas Tubelis, who averages 19.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Pick: Arizona