It would be a fitting conclusion to Houston's 2022-23 season to win a National Championship in their home city. The Cougars, 31-3, won the American Conference with ease in the regular season, but fell to Memphis in the conference tournament championship game. The question mark around Houston heading into the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket is the health of star guard Marcus Sasser, who left the AAC semifinal game with a groin injury. If healthy, the Cougars leading scorer (17.1 points per game) will be a key cog in making it to the Final Four of the 2023 March Madness bracket.
Houston can win with a high-scoring offense or grind it out on defense. Entering the NCAA Tournament 2023, the Cougars average 75 points per game on offense and boast the nation's second best scoring defense at 56.5. Before looking for bracket busters and locking in any 2023 NCAA Tournament predictions, see the March Madness 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.
Now, SportsLine's advanced computer model has simulated the entire NCAA Tournament 10,000 times to come up with 2023 NCAA Tournament picks that are filled with bracket busters and upsets. Don't even think about making a pick without seeing what their model has to say.
Top 2023 March Madness upsets
One of the model's top 2023 March Madness upset picks: No. 5 seed Duke fails to reach the Sweet 16 despite cruising through last weekend's ACC Tournament. The Blue Devils, led by star center Kyle Filipowski, have won nine straight games en route to a 26-8 regular season. But a second round matchup with No. 4 Tennessee, which ranks third nationally in points per game against (58.0) might be their downfall.
Another surprise: No. 10 seed USC knocks off No. 7 Michigan State. The Trojans are led by guards Boogie Ellis (18 points per game) and Drew Peterson (14), the team's only scorers to average double-figures. They won five of their last six regular season games before falling to Arizona State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. Michigan State finished 7-8 in their last 15 games and if the Spartans don't rebound from a loss to a subpar Ohio State team in the Big Ten Tournament, they will be one-and-done in March Madness 2023. See which other 2023 March Madness bracket busters SportsLine loves right here.
How to find 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket busters
Who are the top 2023 March Madness bracket busters? And which 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's calling this year before locking in any 2023 NCAA bracket picks.
Which No. 12-seed reaches the Sweet 16? And which region features a 12-seed, 13-seed and 14-seed delivering first-round shockers? Visit SportsLine now to find to see the optimal 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket, all from the model that has beaten 92% of bracket players two of the last four tournaments and nailed 18 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds.
