Bracketology 2021: 10 biggest winners from opening month of season

1. Missouri

In recent years, Missouri hasn’t been much of a player on the national stage. They’ve watched as SEC teams like Auburn and Tennessee have vastly improved, while optimism for the future has fans excited at Alabama, Arkansas, and a few other schools. For Missouri, there’s plenty of talent on the roster, but fourth-year coach Cuonzo Martin has yet to put it all together.

Missouri was picked to finish 10th in the SEC this season, and yet have exceeded expectations as greatly as any team in the nation. Their early season neutral site win over a ranked Oregon team was a solid start, but their win over #6 Illinois in the Braggin’ Rights game really brought the excitement back for this Tigers program. When you consider the disappointing starts for Kentucky and several other SEC teams, this Missouri team can suddenly compete for and possibly win the SEC crown.

Xavier Pinson, Illinois transfer Mark Smith, and Evansville transfer Dru Smith have all played starring roles early on for the Tigers. There aren’t any flashy names or bigtime prospects at Missouri, but they play hard and tough and have taken care of business in the first month of the season.

They’ll get their first big SEC test when they host Tennessee this week; perhaps that’ll help show us if the Tigers are for real. If they are, then don’t be shocked when they finish nine slots ahead of their 10th place projection and potentially appear in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

We’re just over a month into a chaotic college basketball season in which we have already seen plenty of intrigue. We’ve taken a look at ten of the greatest bracketology winners, but you never know what the next month will bring. Anything can happen, especially in a season this crazy; which teams will stand out going forward?