Bracketology Winners: Syracuse, Maryland secure key resume-builders

Arizona State Sun Devils

After struggling a bit to begin Pac-12 play, Arizona State secured big-time wins this week over two other contenders in the conference, Oregon State and Oregon. And while both of these victories came at home, they showed glimpses of what many thought that this team was after defeating Kansas last month. The Sun Devils, in addition to being a contender for an at-large bid, are definitely one of the best teams in the Pac-12. ASU still has plenty of work to do to ensure an NCAA Tournament bid in March but this week will certainly help the resume moving forward.

Butler Bulldogs

Butler entered this past week firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble after a disappointing 1-3 start in Big East play. Yet, the team seemed to finally find its rhythm in back-to-back wins over DePaul and St. John’s. On the surface, these might not seem like “elite” wins but they represented two of the better all-around performances from the team on the season. Against DePaul, the Dawgs shot the lights out in the second half and utilized their offense to come away with their first true road win of the season. They then followed that performance up by taking care of business at home against St. John’s. These two wins by the Dawgs should push them back into most projected bracketology fields with three of their next four games coming at home.