The Pittsburgh Panthers officially booked their spot in the Round of 64 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket when they beat Mississippi State during the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday. Pittsburgh will face No. 6 seed Iowa State in the opening round of the March Madness 2023 schedule. Many fans will avoid picking a team that participated in the First Four, but that can be a dangerous 2023 March Madness bracket strategy. In 10 of the 11 tournaments since the First Four was introduced, at least one of the participants has advanced to the second round of the March Madness bracket.Two of those teams have made it to the Final Four and three others reached the Sweet 16. Should you have Pitt advancing with an upset over Iowa State in your 2023 NCAA bracket? Before making any 2023 March Madness bracket predictions, be sure to check out the 2023 NCAA Tournament 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.
There’s simply no reason to rely on luck when there’s proven technology to help you dominate your 2023 March Madness pools. Now, with the 2023 NCAA bracket being revealed, the model is simulating the matchups and its results are in. You can only see it over at SportsLine.2023 March Madness bracket games to watchOne 2023 March Madness matchup to keep an eye on: No. 8 Iowa vs. No. 9 Auburn in the Midwest region. The Hawkeyes feature a high-flying offense that’s averaging 80.2 points per game, which ranks 18th in the nation. Iowa also takes care of the ball, averaging just 9.9 turnovers per game. Auburn, meanwhile, is holding opponents to under 29% from three-point range. However, the Tigers are 4-9 in their last 13 games entering the NCAA Tournament 2023.Another Midwest Regional battle to watch: Miami (FL) vs. Drake figures to be yet another pivotal 5 vs. 12 matchup. The Hurricanes made a run to the Elite Eight last season and are led by ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong. However, forward Norchad Omier is questionable to play after injuring his knee in a loss to Duke last Friday. Drake has won at least 20 games in five straight seasons, making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance this year. The Bulldogs beat Wichita State in the First Four in 2021 before losing to USC in the first round.
The third matchup to watch is also in the Midwest Regional: No. 7 seed Texas A&M against No. 10 seed Penn State. The Nittany Lions were on the wrong side of the bubble in the middle of February, but they won five of their final six games during the regular season before advancing to the title game in the Big Ten Tournament. Senior guard Jalen Pickett leads Penn State with 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. He will face a formidable challenge in Texas A&M, which won eight of its final nine games before adding two wins in the SEC Tournament. Sophomore Wade Taylor IV has established himself as one of the best guards in the league, averaging 16.5 points and 4.0 assists per game. You can see how far all these teams go over at SportsLine.How to make 2023 NCAA bracket predictionsHow far will those major programs go? And which Cinderella 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 is calling this year before locking in any NCAA bracket picks.So what’s the optimal NCAA Tournament bracket 2023? And which March Madness underdogs will shock college basketball? Visit SportsLine now to see which teams you can back with confidence, all from the model that’s nailed 18 upsets by double-digit seeds since its inception and beat over 92 percent of players two of the last four tournaments.