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We Used KemPom, Torvik & Haslametrics to Fill Out March Madness Brackets – See Where They Agree & Differ

Sascha Paruk

by Sascha Paruk in College Basketball

Updated Mar 15, 2023 · 11:51 AM PDT

Houston Cougars guard Tramon Mark
Mar 12, 2023; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Houston Cougars guard Tramon Mark (12) defends against the Memphis Tigers in bound pass during the second half at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
  • Bettors can use the major college-basketball analytics sites to pick their 2023 NCAA Tournament brackets
  • Below, we have compared the KenPom March Madness bracket to Haslametrics and Torvik
  • See how these three expert NCAA Tournament brackets compare and where they agree/disagree

For nearly two decades, college basketball bettors have been using  sites like KenPom to fine-tune their wagers and try to gain a leg-up on sportsbooks. These days, three main advanced-analytics models are available for NCAA basketball: KenPom, Haslametrics, and Torvik.

Below, SBD has filled out a 2023 March Madness bracket based on each site’s ratings/predictions. While they agree on a lot – including the ultimate champion – there are some major discrepancies between the three.

Jump to: KenPom bracket | Haslametrics bracket | Torvik bracket

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KenPom March Madness Bracket


As you will see below, all three sites have Houston as the top-rated team in the country and, as a result, all three brackets here have Houston as the champion. Houston also sits atop the odds to win March Madness.

Not every site agrees that Alabama is the second-best team in the country, but due to the way the bracket is organized, all three also have Alabama in the title game. (More on this below.)

KenPom suggests that the most-underseeded teams are #4 UConn in the West (4th overall at KenPom), #4 Tennessee in the East (5th overall at KenPom), and #10 Utah State in the South (18th overall at KenPom).

The most-overseeded teams per KenPom include #3 Kansas State in the East (25th at KenPom), #4 Virginia in the South (34th at KenPom), and #4 Indiana in the Midwest (30th at KenPom).

Haslametrics March Madness Bracket

The main area where Haslam disagrees with the other two sites is on Gonzaga. Haslametrics rates Mark Few’s Bulldogs as the second-best team in the country behind Houston; Gonzaga is only 7th at Torvik and 8th at KenPom.

But because Gonzaga is on the same side of the bracket as the Cougars, Few’s team crashes out in the Final Four.

Haslametrics is also the only model that predicts the following: Kentucky advancing past Kansas State and reaching the Sweet 16, USC taking down Michigan State in the first round, and Maryland beating West Virginia in the first round.

Torvik March Madness Bracket

 

The main area where the Torvik bracket diverges from the others is on #3 Baylor (East) and #6 Iowa State (Midwest). The Torvik bracket has both advancing to the Sweet 16, while the others have both crashing out in the second round, to Creighton and Xavier, respectively.

How Do the Computer Models Compare to SBD’s Expert Brackets?

The editorial staff at SBD posted their expert March Madness brackets yesterday and they are wildly different than the brackets above. None have Houston as the national champion, none have shorthanded Tennessee advancing past the Sweet 16, and all three have Kansas in the Elite Eight. All three brackets above have Tennessee reaching the Final Four, but it’s important to note that sites like KenPom do not adjust for key March Madness injuries. The Vols, who are without Zakai Zeigler, are listed as a +425 longshot in the Final Four odds.

Two out of three of SBD’s experts predict Shaka Smart’s Marquette Golden Eagles taking the title, while the third has Nate Oates and Alabama winning their first in school history.

Use SBD’s printable March Madness bracket to make your picks today. The first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament gets underway at noon ET tomorrow (Thursday, March 16).

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