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Bracketology 2020: Providence, UCLA and Kansas among biggest winners

By Tristan Freeman

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Cody Riley #2 and Chris Smith #5 of the UCLA Bruins line up on the lane against Kolby Lee #40 of the BYU Cougars during the second half at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Cody Riley #2 and Chris Smith #5 of the UCLA Bruins line up on the lane against Kolby Lee #40 of the BYU Cougars during the second half at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NOVEMBER 19: Head coach Steve Forbes of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS – NOVEMBER 19: Head coach Steve Forbes of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

East Tennessee State Buccaneers (25-4, 14-2 SoCon)

It wasn’t the greatest week for mid-major teams on the bubble. Northern Iowa suffered a bad loss to Indiana State, while the Atlantic 10 overall had problems (more on that in a bit). But one conference who did well overall was the Southern Conference, led by their most viable at-large candidate in East Tennessee State.

The Buccaneers got a massive win against Furman this week, a win that’s right on the edge of being Quad 2 worthy. They followed that up with a close but solid road win over Samford to avoid a resume killer. Already projected to be an at-large team in the field, ETSU enters the final week of SoCon just needing to beat Wofford on the road to feeling confident about not needing the automatic bid to make the Big Dance.

It also helps that the other top teams in the SoCon also got wins to help boost the top wins for the Buccaneers resume. UNC-Greensboro (who ETSU swept already) won twice this week and is slowly making their own case for an at-large big. Furman and Wofford also have been winning, which can elevate wins over them to being Quad 2. And LSU won at South Carolina on Saturday as well. The Tigers are the best win for the Bucs so their performances are pivotal for their resume as well. But to control their own destiny, East Tennessee State just needs to win out until the conference title game.

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