March Madness 2023 bracket busters: 5 high seeds that will go down early

1. Potential bracket busters – Virginia Cavaliers

If you thought Tennessee was a potential bracket-buster based on their defense/offense combination, Virginia takes it to another level. Tony Bennett’s Pack Line defense remains brutal to play as the Cavaliers held opponents to just 60.3 points per game, but an anemic attack has made Virginia very vulnerable to an upset.

The Cavaliers are one of the slowest teams in the sport, ranking 360th in tempo in KenPom out of 363 teams, meaning they don’t get many opportunities to score based on their desire to limit possessions. That strategy hasn’t paid off on the offensive end as Virginia puts up just under 69 points per game, a figure that ranks in the 290s nationally.

Making matters worse is the fact that Virginia hasn’t been playing good basketball down the stretch, playing a ton of nail-biters and managing to escape from losses as a result of playing in the mediocre ACC. The competition will be a lot tougher in March, however, and the Cavaliers’ offensive no-show against Duke in the ACC title game is a bad omen for their fortunes in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers drew a brutal first-round matchup with an experienced Furman team that won’t be afraid of executing their offense against the Pack Line. Surviving that would mean a tough matchup against either San Diego State or dangerous 12-seed Charleston, either of whom would be more than capable of ending Virginia’s tournament early.

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