2023 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions: March Madness expert picks, winners, upsets, favorites to win

The college basketball season began back in November with more than 350 teams eligible to compete in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. On Sunday, the field of teams chasing a title shrunk to 68 as the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee revealed the 2023 March Madness bracket for the first time.

Now all that’s left is to make your picks!

Our CBS Sports experts have spent months preparing for this exact moment. We’ve broken down the tape, watched the top players and compiled all the intel necessary to help guide you through building your bracket. From the No. 1 teams to the No. 16 seeds, we have you covered across all 68 teams, all 65 games and all three weeks of the tournament.

Brackets are here! Get back in your pools and join our Men’s and Women’s Challenges for the chance to win a new SUV and a college basketball dream trip!

The CBS Sports college basketball team has filled out its expert brackets, so think of this as a cheat sheet to aid you in winning your pool. (Copy all you want; we won’t judge.) We’re here to serve you, and our knowledge is your knowledge. Just know, if we’re right and make the correct picks, we are absolutely responsible and want credit (tweet us!). And if not, well, we take zero blame. Thems the rules. 

Get every pick, every play, every upset and fill out your bracket with our help! Visit SportsLine now to see which teams will make and break your bracket and who will cut down the nets, all from the model that beat over 92% of all CBS Sports brackets in two of the last four tournaments.

OK, enough with the fun stuff. On to the brackets …  

2023 NCAA Tournament bracket predictions

Gary Parrish

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A terrific coach, great guards, experienced players and NBA talent are usually what it takes to win a national title. Houston checks every box considering Kelvin Sampson is a terrific coach, Jamal Shead and Marcus Sasser are great guards, four of Houston’s top five scorers are non-freshmen, and Sasser and Jarace Walker should both be first-round NBA Draft picks. Am I concerned about Sasser’s groin injury? Sure, a little. But assuming he’s OK, I think Houston is better equipped than anybody else to win six games in this bracket and cut nets on the first Monday night in April.

Matt Norlander

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Kyle Boone

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The health of star guard and leading scorer Marcus Sasser may cause doubt to creep into your mind about the Cougars’ chances, but should he return at full strength, Houston should be regarded as the frontrunner until further notice. This Kelvin Sampson-led club is the toughest, most well-rounded team in the sport and the most grueling matchup for opposing teams to boot. They routinely rake on the offensive glass, thrive on second-chance opportunities and grind teams down with their methodical pace. With 31 wins to just three losses entering March Madness, this Houston team rates No. 1 across multiple analytics sites and has the requisite offensive/defensive balance you want from a contender as the only team in the sport with a top-11 offense and defense in adjusted efficiency ratings.

Dennis Dodd

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Chip Patterson

Click to enlarge Chip’s bracket

I started filling out my bracket knowing how unlikely it is for schools to win a national championship and then run it back. I also know how unlikely it is for a program to win a national championship, lose most of the primary rotation players and then come back and compete for a national championship. But that’s exactly what Kansas has done, notching a record 17 Quad 1 wins, another Big 12 regular season crown and earning the third No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I think the bracket breaks favorably, as UCLA is dealing with injury issues and Kansas can match styles with the likes of UConn or Gonzaga depending on what’s needed. From there it’s a fourth meeting with Texas, in Houston, which should be epic and then facing the winner of my chaos side which has Arizona out of the South and Duke out of the East. The Blue Devils have not been playing like a No. 5 seed over the last nine games, as they’ve gotten healthier and the blue chip freshmen have gotten even more comfortable in their roles. It’s a bad draw for Purdue, made even worse by the Madison Square Garden setting — a building Duke plays in every year — for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

Get every pick, every play, every upset and fill out your bracket with our help! Visit SportsLine now to see which teams will make and break your bracket and who will cut down the nets, all from the model that nailed 18 upsets by double-digit seeds.