Bracketology Winners: Ole Miss, Temple, and Gonzaga have huge weeks

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Head coach Fran Dunphy of the Temple Owls looks on in the first half against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first round of the 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 18, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 20: Devontae Shuler #0 of the Mississippi Rebels tries to save a ball from going out of bounds during his team’s game against the Utah Utes during day one of the Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 20, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images /

Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss has actually had a quietly good season overall, starting out 13-2. But after they started out 3-2 with losses to Butler and Cincinnati, the views of many was that this team was rebuilding and shouldn’t be paid much attention to. The Rebels did win eight straight after that but it still wasn’t enough to move the needle.

Then came this past week, which if they make the NCAA Tournament, will be the defining point of the season. A pair of games against top-15 SEC teams Auburn and Mississippi State.

Ole Miss handled the Tigers by holding their starting guards to just 11/38 shooting to get the home win. Then just a few days later, went on the road at a hostile environment against a heated rival and left with a four-point thrilling victory, led by Blake Hinson‘s 26 points.

With these wins now included, Ole Miss’s resume now looks great, with two great wins along with Baylor, and several mid-majors that are expected to finish near the top of their respective leagues. And most importantly – zero bad losses.

Next. Biggest takeaways from the week. dark

The Rebels are now 3-0 in conference play and while there are no such things as an easy SEC slate, this upcoming week’s home battles versus LSU and Alabama are a doable feat. If they can somehow sweep these games in what will be in front of a re-energized crowd, Ole Miss won’t have to worry about making the Big Dance but rather how good a seed they’ll get.

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