Bracketology 2023 projected field: Arizona, Tennessee rise to top of field

Who’s in? and who’s out?

First Four

The First Four sees two ACC teams headed to Dayton to take on teams from the Big Ten and SEC. In one game, Pittsburgh does battle a Kentucky team that has had their season seemingly revitalized and subsequently ended with every win and loss. The other game has Steve Forbes’ Wake Forest Demon Deacons taking on the defensively strong and offensively challenged Wisconsin Badgers. The winner of the Pittsburgh-Kentucky matchup gets themselves a game with No. 6 Rutgers in the West Region and either Wake Forest or Wisconsin heads to the Midwest Region to take on No. 6 San Diego State.

First four out

The four teams that just missed the cut in this edition of the bracket begin with a couple of Big Ten teams in Ohio State and Penn State. The other two teams on the outside looking in are on the west coast with the Nevada Wolf Pack and Arizona State Sun Devils. Both teams have a chance at a statement win in the next week. The Sun Devils host Oregon and Nevada and welcome San Diego State to Reno.

Next four out

The next four teams out are centralized around the south with Texas A&M and two teams from Oklahoma, the Sooners and Oklahoma State in that group. Filling out the next four teams out are the Utah State Aggies, who at 17-3 find themselves 33rd in the NET with three quad 1 losses all in the Mountain West and all on the road.

The other Aggies from Texas A&M have been one of the bigger surprises in basketball, currently sitting at 7-1 in the SEC. The two Big 12 teams have chances every time they take the floor to jump higher into consideration.