Yahoo Sports basketball writer Nick Bromberg presents his first analysis of the Midwest Region of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
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NICK BROMBERG: Houston was a somewhat surprising pick to be the number one seed in the Midwest region on Sunday and could have to knock off a former Southwest Conference rival to reach the Final Four. The Cougars are the number two overall seed in the men's tournament despite losing the AAC title game to Memphis on Sunday.
Houston took first place in the Midwest over Kansas thanks to just three losses all season. And the selection committee said Houston was competitive in all three of those games and Marcus Sasser missed Sunday's game.
Big 12 champion Texas is the number two seed in the region on the opposite side of the bracket and could face Texas A&M in the second round if the Aggies beat Penn State. The number seven Aggies finished second in the SEC and could be the lowest seeded team in the entire tournament after missing the tournament a season ago. If A&M and UT meet, this could be a spicy weekend matchup that will happen more often going forward in the SEC.
Xavier got the number three seed in the region and could be a contender to make the Final Four for multiple bracket pool appearances. If you're looking for an upset, Drake is tempting as the No. 12 seed against No. 5 Miami in the first round. The Hurricanes lost forward Norchad Omier to an ankle injury just seconds into Saturday's ACC title game.
The Midwest also features two Big 12 teams among its top six seeds, as Iowa State is the No. 6 seed. If the Cyclones can reach the Sweet 16 for the second straight season, they will have a significant home-court advantage in Kansas City.
And now that the brackets are out, they're here and you need to make sure you get in on the action with the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Tourney Pick'em for both the men's and women's tournaments this year. You could win $25,000 in our best bracket contest. It's free to play, so head over to tourney.yahoo.com to enter.
