NCAA Basketball: Predict the Final Final 2023 National Champion

The 2022 edition of March Madness has just ended, but it's not too early to see who will make the 2023 Final Four in Houston.

The 2022 Final Four was one of the most highly anticipated groups in NCAA Tournament history, with the Four Blue Bloods fighting to cut the net in New Orleans. March Madness always offers plenty of adventure each year and 2023 should be exciting as all 368 Division I teams look to reach Houston for the Final Four next April.

Projecting the Final Four for next season may seem crazy, when we haven't seen the impact of the NBA draft, the transfer portal, or the final decisions of major recruits. Even though we're almost a year away from crowning the next national champion, here's a way too early to see who will get to Houston as well as who will win it all.

Introducing the 2023 Final Four and National Champions

UCLA Bruins

The Bruins made it to the Final Four in the Indianapolis bubble in 2021, but failed to live up to the No. 2 preseason ranking promotion this season as they were bounced in Sweet 16 by North Carolina. The good news for Mick Cronin's team is that this season's bad taste may tempt Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jaquez, and Peyton Watson to abandon the draft and return to Westwood in search of March Madness glory.

With the return of guards Tiger Campbell and Jaylen Clark, getting that trio back will give UCLA plenty of experience that should prove valuable when the NCAA Tournament is around the corner. The pending addition of five-star recruits Adem Bona and Amari Bailey will add more talent to a roster that is loaded with it, creating an excellent mix that should cruise into the Final Four.

Kansas Jayhawks

Kansas should remain with him for some time after a historic championship run, but there are plenty of reasons to expect a potential repeat. Even with Ochai Agaji likely to move to the NBA, the Jayhawks will have Dajuan Harris and Jalen Wilson back in the starting lineup, while Christian Braun could bring Kansas back to an elite level if he finishes his senior season. opted to return to school. A fringe pick at the top of the second round, Braun will become the favorite to succeed Ogazi as offensive leader of the Jayhawks if he comes back into Lawrence.

The biggest reason Kansas is bullish is their loaded recruitment class with three five-star prospects who can come in and get started right away. The group's headliner is short forward Grady Dick, a McDonald's All-American ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN 100, the latest for the Jayhawks to become another superstar who has seen Ben Macklemore, Andrew D. Wiggins and Josh Jackson use Kansas as a springboard for the NBA Draft Lottery.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Eric Musselman has shown potential to be a strong NCAA Tournament coach, with plenty of ups and downs on his resume and the Razorbacks poised to become the class of the SEC next season. Arkansas is losing some key rotation players if their seniors don't exercise their bonus COVID years, with J.D. Notte being the most notable of them, but Jaylin Williams has made a big jump this season and if he forgets, Arkansas's The best players could be in this summer's NBA Draft.

The reason the Razorbacks make it to the Final Four is because Musselman has put together a top-3 recruiting class littered with five-star talent like Anthony Black, Nick Smith, and Jordan Walsh. Arkansas ranks three of the seven most prolific recruits in the program's history and should add rocket fuel to a hardened defensive team that needed a bit more offensive punch to take the next step from the Elite Eight to the Final Four.

Houston Cougar - National Champion

What the Cougars managed to do this season, replacing the vast majority of the 2021 Final Four rosters, was remarkable. Head coach Calvin Sampson deserves a ton of credit for managing to get his team into the Elite Eight without the services of two key starters, Traiman Mark and Marcus Sasser, both of whom lost to injury by mid-January.

Both men should be back this season, along with several key rotation players including point guard Jamal Sheed and big man J'Van Roberts. That continuation will be massive for Houston, which also adds top 10 recruiter Jarrett Walker to add a five-star recruit to the power forward spot. Walker's joining and the healthy return of two of his best players will be a tremendous boost for the Cougars, who are favorites to cut the net at NRG Stadium, just 90 minutes from their premises.

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