Bracketology 2023: Kansas State, Arizona among week’s biggest winners

Kent State Golden Flash

There is a lot of talk about the mid-major darlings such as Florida Atlantic and College of Charleston, who are both ranked in the AP top 25 and potentially at-large candidates. But one that’s been flying under the radar is Kent State, which currently has a NET ranking of 35 and not a single bad loss on its resume. The problem is that they don’t have a Quad 1 or 2 victory, just close losses to Houston, Gonzaga, and Charleston to this point.

But what the Flash can do is dominate the MAC enough to have 30+ wins and elite metrics. That happened this past week, with double-digit wins over Emoni Bates and Eastern Michigan as well as Ball State, who was second place in the league standings. These were potentially tricky games on the schedule and Kent State had no issue with them. There’s a real chance that led by MAC Player of the Year Sincere Carry, they can run the table in the league.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

After losing three straight games to fall to 1-4 in Big 12 play, the Cowboys had a pair of home games that were near “must-win” for their Bracketology resumes. They managed to get them in wins over Oklahoma and Iowa State, a Quad 1 and 2 addition to the resume. That puts them to a combined 4-7 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents, far better than the 2-7 record they had heading into the week.

Being in the Big 12, Oklahoma State has plenty of chances for Quad 1 wins, and its Quad 3 home loss to Southern Illinois continues to look better, as they’re now in first place of the Missouri Valley. This week got them on the right side of the bubble and as long as they find a few more wins in league play, should have the numbers for an at-large spot.