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Bracketology Winners: Florida, Dayton trending up on the bubble

By Lukas Harkins

DAYTON, OH - NOVEMBER 30: Trey Landers #3 of the Dayton Flyers reacts in the second half of the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at UD Arena on November 30, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulldogs won 65-58. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - NOVEMBER 30: Trey Landers #3 of the Dayton Flyers reacts in the second half of the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at UD Arena on November 30, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulldogs won 65-58. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Saint Mary’s Gaels cheerleaders perform. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: Saint Mary’s Gaels cheerleaders perform. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Saint Mary’s Gaels

So when did Saint Mary’s become a legit threat for an at-large bid? Despite poor quadrant records and not a great resume, on the whole, the Gaels are definitely in consideration due to their high metric ratings across the board. And after creeping into the at-large conversation about a week ago, head coach Randy Bennett’s team backed it up with a couple of strong performances. During this past week, Saint Mary’s went on the road for back-to-back wins over Pacific and San Diego. They won each of these games by 20+ points and held their opponents to less than 50 points both times.

With these strong performances, the Gaels continued their soaring rise up quality metric rankings and into strong consideration for an NCAA Tournament bid. Looking ahead, Saint Mary’s might need to find a way to notch a home win over Gonzaga in their regular-season finale to dance but that is not out of the question. They will be looking for revenge after falling by nearly 50 points earlier in the year.

Utah State Aggies

Utah State has been a steady presence on the bubble throughout seemingly this entire season. But after taking down New Mexico and Boise State this week, I think that the Aggies have finally made the climb onto the right side of the bubble. The Aggies have won 11 of their last 12 games and it is clear that they are playing at a high level right now. With top-50 adjusted offensive and defensive ratings, this team is quite balanced and has the star play needed to get it done in March.

With that said, though, the vital home matchup with Nevada approaches on March 2. If the Aggies win out the rest of their regular season (three games, including the one against Nevada), they will probably dance in March regardless of how they perform in the MWC Tournament. This team deserves to show what they can do on the national stage when it is not after bedtime on the east coast.

Next. Bracketology Bubble Watch. dark

That concludes this edition my bracketology winners. It is impossible to determine how these teams will build on these strong weeks but hopefully they will be able to make it happen. The NCAA Tournament is quickly approaching and these wins by these teams will play a major factor.

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