With Selection Sunday out of the way, the 2023 men’s edition of March Madness is set to begin on March 14, tipping off with Arizona State and Nevada matching up in the First Four.
In the West region, No. 1 seed Kansas will look to pull off back-to-back national titles after posting a 27-7 record during the regular season. Following a 76-56 defeat against Texas in the Big 12 tournament final, the Jayhawks will face off against Howard, which won the MEAC regular season and tournament championships.
As for No. 2 seed UCLA, the Bruins will face No. 15 UNC Asheville, which finished its season 27-7. UCLA will be playing without star wing Jaylen Clark, who suffered a season-ending injury in the team’s regular-season finale.
Below is the first-round schedule for the West Region:
First Four
Teams: Arizona State vs. Nevada
Game Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Game Time: 9:10 p.m. ET
Game Location: University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio
TV: truTV
First Round
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Howard
Game Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023
Game Time: 2 p.m. ET
Game Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
TV: TBS
No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Illinois
Game Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023
Game Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Game Location: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
TV: TBS
No. 5 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 12 VCU
Game Date: Friday, March 17, 2023
Game Time: 2 p.m. ET
Game Location: MVP Arena, Albany, N.Y.
TV: TBS
No. 4 UConn vs. No. 13 Iona
Game Date: Friday, March 17, 2023
Game Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Game Location: MVP Arena, Albany, N.Y.
TV: TBS
No. 6 TCU vs. No. 11 Arizona State/Nevada
Game Date: Friday, March 17, 2023
Game Time: 10:05 p.m. ET
Game Location: Ball Arena, Denver
TV: truTV
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Grand Canyon
Game Date: Friday, March 17, 2023
Game Time: 7:35 p.m. ET
Game Location: Ball Arena, Denver
TV: truTV
No. 7 Northwestern vs. No. 10 Boise State
Game Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023
Game Time: 7:35 p.m.
Game Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif.
TV: truTV
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 15 UNC Asheville
Game Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023
Game Time: 10:05 p.m. ET
Game Location: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, Calif.
TV: truTVt
Pat Forde’s Analysis, Predictions
Most interesting early matchup: Arkansas-Illinois is an 8-9 clash of two talented, enigmatic teams that both hoped for better seasons and higher seedings than this. Neither team can shoot from the perimeter or the foul line, which should lead to a lot of attacking of the basket against packed-in defenses—we’ll see how that goes. Illini coach Brad Underwood has never been to the Sweet Sixteen, while Arkansas boss Eric Musselman has been to consecutive regional finals.
Player to watch: Gonzaga’s Drew Timme has seemingly been playing since the peach basket days and has become a bit of a lightning rod over the course of his 75 years in college basketball. We kid. Timme has scored more than 2,200 career points, doing it with the kind of flair that causes fans to either love him or despise him. This will be the first time Timme and the Zags have not come into the tournament with a No. 1 seed and a bullseye on their backs, which might help.
Upset watch: March warlock Rick Pitino brings No. 13 seed Iona to nearby Albany to play No. 4 Connecticut. While there likely are some matchup issues for the Gaels, never doubt Pitino’s ability to put together a tournament game plan. The only question is whether he has already mentally checked out for St. John’s, where he’s widely expected to be named coach as soon as Iona’s season ends.
Region winner: Kansas.
Kevin Sweeney’s Analysis, Predictions
Matchup to Watch: No. 8 Arkansas vs. No. 9 Illinois. This is a rather fitting 8-vs.-9 game pitting two of the more frustrating teams in the country. There’s no denying the talent here, but Illinois’ top-tier wins against Texas and UCLA have been overshadowed by a 2–11 record in Quad 1 games, while Arkansas finished just 20–13 after never being consistently healthy.
Illinois at its best is capable of wreaking havoc defensively because of its positional size and athleticism, and have proven March commodities like Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer and Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon. Meanwhile, Arkansas’ young backcourt will have to grow up in a hurry, but guards Nick Smith Jr. and Anthony Black are potential Top 10 picks in this year’s NBA draft. Kansas likely isn’t thrilled about having to go against one of these two talented teams in the second round.
Player to Watch: Mike Miles, TCU. No player in the country is as important to his team’s success as Miles is to TCU, which could be a sleeper to make a deep tournament run. Miles played five minutes or fewer in six of TCU’s 12 losses this season. He’s one of the more dynamic point guards in the country and the offensive catalyst for a team that is explosive in transition. A TCU-Gonzaga matchup in the Round of 32 would have the potential to be the highest-scoring game of the tournament.
