The 2022-2023 College Basketball season has started, and the countdown to March Madness has begun. Even though it’s only been a few weeks since the season started, there is much to discuss.
Everybody knows anything can happen during the tournament, but some teams are a tier above the rest coming into the season. This year, I predict the one seeds to be UNC, Kansas, Houston, and Gonzaga. UNC is coming off a historic tournament run, making it to the finals as an eighth seed, only beaten by Kansas. Even though UNC lost last year, they brought back almost their starting lineup. Including Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, and RJ Davis; they are only losing Brady Manek. Another notable contender are the Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas is coming off a tremendous National Championship run, but unlike UNC, they have lost many significant players. Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun got drafted, and big man David McCormack is now playing overseas. The hope for the Jayhawks fans is that returner Jalen Wilson makes a giant leap this season and becomes a top 5 College Basketball player in the country this year.
Gonzaga has been known for the past ten years as an absolute powerhouse in the College Basketball realm, but they haven’t ever won a national championship. Gonzaga is automatically a contender because of the presence of big man Drew Timme. My final one-seed prediction is the Houston Cougars. This team could go all the way by coming off back-to-back Elite 8 runs. Houston has the best coach in college basketball, Kelvin Sampson. There are some other teams that I would not be surprised to see make a run. One of these teams is Texas. While it’s still early in the season, Texas has looked fantastic. Most notably, they beat Gonzaga by 20 points early in the season. Another one of these teams is Duke. Despite losing almost the entire roster from their Final Four team last year, the Blue Devils have returned with another talented roster this year and a new coach in Jon Scheyer. It will be interesting to see how Duke competes after losing legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski. My first sleeper pick that may surprise everyone is Kentucky. Kentucky is coming off a stunning loss in the first round to fifteen-seed St. Peters but is looking for revenge this year. They have gotten off to a slow start losing to Gonzaga and Michigan State, but that is because their star big man Oscar Tshiebwe has been dealing with injuries. I think Tshiebwe is the best big man in College basketball this year and can make any team a contender. Another sleeper pick is Purdue. Because of the loss of Jaden Ivey, many expect them to falter from last year’s impressive season. However, it’s possible 7’4 big man Zach Edey will make a massive leap this year, cushioning the loss of Ivey. One exciting team to watch is Creighton. The Bluejays have great depth along with some star players; although I don’t have them being a top team this season, I wouldn’t bet against them to be a top ten team this year, and they could make a deep run in the postseason. Of all these teams, if I had to pick a winner today, it would be UNC. Because of their experience and talent, I think they will win the National Championship in March.
With all that was mentioned in this article, it is essential to note that it is still very early in the season, and as we learn every year, anything can happen. But we are in for an exciting year of college basketball, and I can’t wait to see how this year turns out.
