Bracketology 2021: Creighton, Loyola-Chicago, Arkansas among big winners

Winthrop

Loyola has everyone’s attention, especially considering they are three years removed from a Final Four run. However, there are still a number of mid-majors flying under the radar in college basketball. It’s easy to say that these teams with fantastic records aren’t exactly playing tough schedules, but they are winning the games in front of them, and that’s all you can really do right?

Winthrop has done this very thing all season long. They aren’t playing a murderer’s row, but this past week they took care of business to assert themselves as Big South champions. The Eagles went on the road to Radford, the second-best team in the league, and won a pair of games. They got an 18-point effort from DJ Burns Jr. in a 16-point win on Thursday, then took care of business on Friday in the rematch, nearly winning by double digits again.

At 18-1, with a 15-1 mark in Big South play, Winthrop’s record does indeed look fantastic. These wins over Radford have worked them up to 69 in the NET rankings. Unfortunately, these Radford wins are likely the most impressive thing on their schedule, though they did also topple Furman in their brief nonconference schedule.

While there are postponed games with Hampton to reschedule, there’s nothing left on Winthrop’s schedule. This team has proven week after week that they deserve to nab the Big South’s bid, and their play this past week served as the nail in the coffin to Radford and their other conference foes. Winthrop has been a solid program for some time, but this team is sneaky good this season, even against inferior competition.