College Basketball

ESPN Bracketology’s Joe Lunardi’s March Madness 2023 Bracket, Predictions, and Expert Picks

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ESPN’s college basketball expert Joe Lunardi has released his March Madness 2023 bracket. Get his NCAA 2023 tournament picks and predictions below.

March Madness is a special time of year for college basketball players and fans. It’s a chance to show your game on a national stage and the opportunity to play against some of the nation’s top talent. The tournament will start this Thursday at 12:15 pm EST and games will air on CBS, truTV, TBS, and TNT. Next, we’ll take a look at Bracketology’s college basketball expert Joe Lunardi’s choice for his bracket and who he has to win it all.


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ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s March Madness 2023 Bracket

Yes, yet another year, and another bracket prediction from Joe Lunardi, who’s been an NCAA men’s basketball expert since the 80s, working for ESPN in the past decade, and of course, the brains behind Bracketology. Out of the 2023 field of 68, the broadcaster announced his bracket picks just yesterday in an ESPN special on March Madness, which is set to start this next Thursday, March 16th in the afternoon.

College basketball expert Joe Lunardi’s March Madness 2023 Predictions & Picks

Joe Lunardi breaks down his 2023 men’s March Madness bracket pick-by-pick, including a surprisingly long stay for Duke. Either way, the Houston Cougars are his favorites out of the 68 participating colleges, even though it was a hard choice to place them as champions over the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Houston Cougars to win the National Championship (+550)

Lunardi has Houston winning the 2023 National Championship over the Alabama Crimson Tide in his bracket.

The Cougars have ranked the best college basketball team in the United States every single month since November, so why should March be any different? After coming off a Final Four appearance two years ago and later an Elite Eight run in 2022, Houston has slowly positioned itself at the center of the college basketball universe, as they’ve been victorious in 87.5% of their contests ever since the pandemic started. With a defensive elite complemented by future top NBA Draft pick Jarace Walker, the power forward will provide the points needed to win with his 34.4% efficiency from behind the arc.

Alabama Crimson Tide to make the Final Four (+160)

As the Alabama Crimson Tide recently won the 2023 SEC championship this last weekend, they are entering the NCAA Tournament on a strong note. Either a curse or a blessing, they now hold the pressure of being one of the four No.1 seeds in the country. They will depend on their freshman star Brandon Miller who’s been averaging 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest for the Crimson Tide this campaign.

Lunardi likes the Crimson Tide to win the South Region but has their magical March Madness run coming to an end in the National Championship Game versus Houston. Still, at +160 to make it to the Final Four, bettors can cash in on Lunardi’s projection.

Duke Blue Devils to make the Final Four (+500)

The Duke Blue Devils are always a team to be reckoned with, as they’ve been on the top of college sports throughout history. Just last year they lost the final to Virginia Tech Hokies, but recently took revenge as they won the last ACC tournament this season. With new head coach John Scheyer, most members of the press believed they were under-seeded at five this year. Now they prepare for their first-round contest against 15-seed Oral Roberts this next Thursday.

Duke is another team that Lunardi has down for a Final Four bid, and at +500 odds, there’s plenty of reasons to back the Blue Devils during the March Madness Tournament.


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