Bracketology 2021: Illinois, Iowa, and Baylor among big winners

After all the turmoil of the past year, including the cancellation of last year’s NCAA Tournament, we find ourselves just a week away from Selection Sunday. It certainly hasn’t been an easy road and the tumultuous journey has been well-documented these last twelve months. After months of cancellations and postponements and everything else that has come with this pandemic, we’re finally on the doorstep of March Madness.

Conference tournaments have begun and some have even concluded. Tickets are being punched to the NCAA Tournament all throughout this next week. 31 deserving teams will exit their conferences as tournament champions, while 37 more teams will sit and wait on Selection Sunday to see if their name has been drawn; if their ticket to the Big Dance will arrive.

And yet, uncertainty still reigns in the college basketball world. We’ve seen teams end their seasons prematurely or be forced away from postseason play due to COVID protocols, including Northern Iowa pulled mere moments before their postseason game this past week. It’s a shame any time a team has gone on pause, but especially at this point in the year when the games matter the most.

But basketball continues, even if cancellations continue into March. With a week left until the Bracket is revealed, we’re hitting the final opportunities for some of these teams to prove their worth. Some bubbles have already popped, while other teams have not only assured themselves of selection but are working to secure the best seeding they can get.

We’ll be taking a look at some of those fine performers from the past week, specifically at ten teams that made a step forward as winners, especially in the bracketology world. We aren’t necessarily talking about teams that jumped into the field or just advanced several seedlines, but teams that had a positive week that will help set them up for happiness on Selection Sunday.

Without further ado, let’s get right into these winners.