Brentley's Bracketology: Predicting 2023 NCAA men's golf regional fields
Another week, another round of bracketology.
As the final men's conference tournaments finish up, here is a prediction of which teams will make regionals, what seeds they'll receive and where they'll be sent.
The official regional fields will be revealed Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. Each of the six regionals will be contested on May 15-17. There 81 total teams that qualify for postseason, and the top five teams (and top individual not on an advancing team) from each regional will advance to the 30-team NCAA Championship on May 26-31 at Grayhawk.
As for the magic number – the Golfstat ranking of the final at-large berth – it's at No. 67, as of Golfstat's April 30 update, with that team being Oregon State. That factors in two teams inside the number that are under .500 and therefore don't satisfy the .500 rule – No. 57 Notre Dame and No. 63 USC.
Wright State, Sam Houston State and UCF are the first three teams out. And Kent State, which finished fourth at the MAC Championship on Tuesday, likely will fall outside of the magic number while not bumping any other teams out.
Here’s a projection of how this year’s six regionals will look when the fields are finalized:
(Note: Automatic qualifiers are listed with their conference in parentheses; *-projected conference champion)
Auburn Regional
Auburn University Club, Auburn, Alabama (Auburn)
1. Vanderbilt
2. Tennessee
3. Auburn
5. Ohio State
6. Washington
7. TCU
8. Chattanooga
9. Houston (American)
10. Marquette (Big East)
11. Indiana
12. Augusta (Southland)
13. Lehigh (Patriot)
Salem Regional
The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, Salem, South Carolina (Clemson)
2. Georgia Tech (ACC)
3. Texas A&M
4. San Diego State (Mountain West)
6. Arkansas
7. Purdue
8. New Mexico
9. Clemson
10. Furman
11. Middle Tennessee State
12. Davidson (Atlantic-10)
13. Princeton (Ivy)
14. Siena (MAAC)
East Lansing Regional
Eagle Eye GC, East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State)
1. Illinois (Big Ten)
2. Florida (SEC)
3. Texas
4. Ole Miss
5. Kansas State
6. East Tennessee State (SoCon)
7. Liberty (ASUN)
8. San Diego
9. UNCG
10. Michigan State
11. Wisconsin
12. Northern Illinois (MAC)
13. Long Island (Northeast)
14. Purdue-Fort Wayne (Horizon)
Las Vegas Regional
Bear’s Best, Las Vegas (UNLV)
1. Arizona State
2. Stanford (Pac-12)
3. Virginia
5. Northwestern
6. Georgia
7. Cincinnati
9. Little Rock (Ohio Valley)
10. Long Beach State (Big West)
11. Oregon State
12. Illinois State (Missouri Valley)
13. Kansas City (Summit)
Norman Regional
Jimmie Austin OU GC, Norman, Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
1. Texas Tech
2. Oklahoma (Big 12)
3. Alabama
4. Oregon
5. Wake Forest
6. Duke
7. LSU
9. N.C. State
10. Kansas
11. UNCW (Colonial)
12. Louisiana (Sun Belt)
13. Longwood (Big South)
14. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC)
Morgan Hill Regional
The Institute GC, Morgan Hill, California (San Jose State)
1. Pepperdine
2. Florida State
3. Mississippi State
4. Arizona
5. Louisville
6. Baylor
7. Missouri
8. BYU (West Coast)
9. Colorado
10. Cal
11. Charlotte (C-USA)
12. Grand Canyon (WAC)
13. Northern Colorado (Big Sky)