ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Unveils His Final Four Picks As Only He Can

The ESPN personality made his regional champion picks on “First Take” on Monday.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Unveils His Final Four Picks As Only He Can
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith Unveils His Final Four Picks As Only He Can /

Following the unveiling of the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament bracket on Sunday, sports media members began to dissect the matchups and make their Final Four selections.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith unveiled his picks on First Take on Monday, as he was joined by college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg in a segment dedicated entirely to the men’s bracket.

Smith revealed that he has No. 1 seed Alabama making the Final Four out of the South Region, No. 2 seed UCLA in the West, No. 4 seed Indiana in the Midwest and No. 5 seed Duke in the East.

“I’m just looking at it and saying ‘Excuse me, Alabama is the No. 1 seed for a reason,’” Smith said to Greenberg. “Can you imagine if Alabama basketball walked away with a national championship in a football town like that? That would be unbelievable. We shall wait and see.”

The men’s NCAA tournament tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday night with the First Four, as Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi meet for the right to claim a No. 16 seed and play against the Crimson Tide. 


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Mike McDaniel
MIKE MCDANIEL

Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.