March Madness 2023: Schedule and Bracket Predictions for Men's Bubble Teams
March is here, meaning it's madness time in men's college basketball.
Each day brings us that much closer to solidifying the 68-team tournament field, which will be officially announced on Selection Sunday.
But who has time to wait that long? Certainly not us, so after laying out the tournament's scheduling information, we'll bounce around the bubble to project the final teams in and out of the Big Dance.
2023 NCAA Tournament Schedule
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Selection Sunday: March 12
First Four: March 14-15
First round: March 16-17
Second round: March 18-19
Sweet 16: March 23-24
Elite Eight: March 25-26
Final Four: April 1
National Championship: April 3
Last Four In
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Boise State
The Broncos are playing some of their best basketball at the right time. Their 23-7 record has been buoyed immensely since the calendar flipped. Since the start of January, they've gone 13-3, and two of those losses came in overtime.
Clemson
The Tigers have sputtered during their stretch run, but they may have done just enough before this skid started to sneak into the field. While they are winless against ranked opponents, all four of those contests were decided by single digits.
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs awakened just in time to avoid what would have been a bad loss to South Carolina on Tuesday, securing their 20th win of the season and giving themselves a chance to finish .500 in conference play. Since a brutal 1-8 stretch that started in December and stretched into late January, Mississippi State has gone 8-2.
Wisconsin
The Badgers could have played their way off the bubble by hanging on against Purdue on Thursday, but Wisconsin didn't hurt itself by losing to one of the nation's best teams by all of two points. The team's 16-13 record doesn't look great on paper, but it did defeat one of the three top-15 teams it played and lost to the others by a total of three points.
Last Four Out
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Michigan
The Wolverines didn't do themselves any favors with Thursday's double-overtime loss to Indiana. Michigan had been building momentum with a three-game winning streak right before that, but its body of work falls just a little short. The Wolverines are winless against ranked opponents, though they will get a crack at another when they close out the regular season at Indiana on Sunday.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels made the championship game last season, but they started that remarkable run as a No. 8 seed, so maybe their fall from grace isn't quite as stunning as it seems. Still, this was the top-ranked team early on and has been free-falling ever since. While they've won three straight—including a triumph over then-sixth-ranked Virginia—this stretch was immediately preceded by five losses in six games.
Oklahoma State
Consistency has been an issue for the Cowboys all season, though they've been pretty consistently abysmal the past few weeks. Oklahoma State has dropped five in a row, and three of those losses were decided by double digits. They've had some good wins, but not enough yet to overlook their wholly forgettable 16-14 record.
Utah State
The Aggies are good, but they're hurt by the fact their schedule offered zero chance of any style points. They only tussled with one ranked team all season, and that was a nail-biting home loss against San Diego State. Closing out the campaign with a win over Boise State would be a nice boost, though.
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