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Bracketology 2021: Alabama, Kentucky, and Michigan among biggest winners

By Tristan Freeman

Jan 9, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari huddles with his players during the first half against the Florida Gators at Billy Donovan Court at Exactech Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari huddles with his players during the first half against the Florida Gators at Billy Donovan Court at Exactech Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bracketology
Bracketology San Diego State Aztecs (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Which NCAA Basketball programs improved their Bracketology standing the most?

As we enter the second week of January, the word “Bracketology” will start to be best used more often. Resumes are starting to build up as conference play gets fully underway. And the biggest indicator of that is the initial release of the NET rankings, the main tool to evaluate programs.

Games are starting to get played more on a regular basis, with programs starting to reach that 13-game threshold to qualify for the 2021 NCAA Tournament. But they’ll have to have the resume to do so. Here are some of the biggest winners from this past week, including a few honorable mentions.

Honorable mentions

Colorado Buffaloes

There aren’t many chances for big wins in Pac-12 play but Colorado took advantage of one this week with a 79-72 win over Oregon on Thursday, led by 21 points and 10 rebounds from McKinley Wright IV. After losing two of three, the Buffs were in need of this victory. They now have four games to play next week, including back-to-back against California. Their goal is to simply avoid a bad loss.

Duke Blue Devils

Without head coach Mike Krzyzewski and still, without freshman Jalen Johnson, this week could’ve turned into a disaster for their March Madness hopes. And it almost was, having a nail-biter at home against Boston College and another tough game against Wake Forest after a long break. But the Blue Devils were able to hold off for the pair of wins and more importantly, not doing any damage to their resume. Duke now has a chance to get a quality victory this upcoming week on the road against Virginia Tech.

San Diego State Aztecs

After losing at home to Colorado State last week, there was some concern about whether the Aztecs could do enough in the Mountain West to get themselves an at-large bid in case the conference tournament doesn’t work out for them. But they were able to get revenge on the Rams the next day, before sweeping Nevada in both games this weekend by a combined seven points. Still, a win is a win and they’re back on track to safely being in the field. The five straight road games coming up will give us a better feeling on them.

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