March Madness is here and the 2023 NCAA Tournament first-round action is just days away. We’ll walk you through every region, the biggest names, the best matchups, and our best bets.
We started with the East Region, then headed West, and then South, so now we finish with the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament.
Midwest Region Schedule
First Four
No. 11 Mississippi State (21–12) vs. No. 11 Pittsburgh (22–11)
- Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023
- Time: 9:10 p.m. ET
- Location: UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
- Channel: truTV
First Round
| Date | Time | Teams | Channel |
| Thu, March 16 | 6:50 p.m. ET |
No. 8 Iowa (19–13) vs. No. 9 Auburn (20–12) |
TNT |
| Thu, March 16 | 7:25 p.m. ET | No. 2 Texas (26–8) vs. No. 15 Colgate (26–8) | TBS |
| Thu, March 16 | 9:20 p.m. ET | No. 16 Northern Kentucky (22–12) vs. No. 1 Houston (31–3) | TNT |
| Thu, March 16 | 9:55 p.m. ET | No. 7 Texas A&M (25–9) vs. No. 10 Penn State (22–13) | TBS |
| Fri, March 17 | 12:40 p.m. ET |
No. 3 Xavier (25–9) vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (26–8) |
TruTV |
| Fri, March 17 | 3:15 p.m. ET | No. 6 Iowa State (19–13) vs. Play-in Winner | truTV |
| Fri, March 17 | 7:25 p.m. ET | No. 5 Miami (25–7) vs. No. 12 Drake (27–7) | TBS |
| Fri, March 17 | 9:55 p.m. ET | No. 4 Indiana (22–11) vs. No. 13 Kent State (28–6) | TBS |
Midwest Region Best Matchups
No. 5 Miami vs No. 12 Drake:
So we get to see a popular Cinderella pick in Drake go up against a potentially overrated team in Miami? Love that from the selection committee. Drake ranks 66th in KenPom rankings with the 44th-best defense and the country’s third-highest defensive rebounding rate. Playing good defense and dominating the glass is a great way to score an upset.
When you also add that Miami ranks just 40th overall in KenPom and has the 132nd-ranked defense, they seem like a prime target to get picked off by a Drake team that shoots 36.7% from beyond the arc this year. Miami’s best interior player, Norchad Omier, injured his ankle in the ACC tournament, which is just yet another knock against their chances.
No. 7 Texas A&M vs No. 10 Penn State
These teams are super close in KenPo’s rankings with A&M coming in at 25th in the country and Penn State rankings 39th. However, Penn State has been playing better basketball of late and lost by just two points to Purdue in the Big Ten Conference tournament. The Nittany Lions’ upset bid will depend on their 17th-ranked offense by KenPom’s efficiency metric) and their three-point shooting, since they made the 3rd-most three-pointers per game of any team in the country. Their defense ranks just 101st by KenPom though, so they may need this to be high-scoring to have a chance.
Midwest Region Best Players
Trayce Jackson-Davis – Center, Indiana
Trayce Jackson-Davis is simply one of the best big men in the country. He’s one of only three players averaging a double-double in the NCAA tournament with 20.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.7 blocks per game. Those are crazy well-balanced numbers. He can absolutely take over a game, but he’s also the focal point for every defense, so Indiana needs to hit their shots in order to keep the defense spaced for him to operate inside.
Jarace Walker – Forward, Houston
Yes, Marcus Sasser is the leading scorer for Houston, but it’s hard to not call a potential top-10 NBA pick one of the best players in the region. Walker won AAC Freshman of the Year by averaging 11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 34.4% from three. He’s a problem.
Marcus Carr – Guard, Texas
Carr may not have gaudy numbers, but he is the driving force behind a Texas team that is a real threat to make the Final Four. He averaged 15.9 points, 4.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 48% from the field and 36% from beyond the arc. If he’s feeling it and causing havoc on the defensive end, Texas can beat anybody in this region.
Midwest Region Pick to Advance
Houston
I mean, Houston is the number one team in the nation by KenPom and lost just three games all year. They boast the 11th-ranked offense and 4th-ranked defense and have a collection of tremendous talent in Marcus Sasser, Tramon Mark, Jaraxe Walker, and J’Wan Roberts. Sasser’s health could be a concern deep in the tournament, but this team is talented enough to get to the Final Four even if he’s banged up.
For more NCAA tournament coverage, visit amNY Sports
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