Bracketology 2023: Texas, Indiana and Saint Mary’s among week’s biggest winners

Virginia Tech Hokies

One of the biggest mysteries in Bracketology is how Virginia Tech still has an at-large pulse. At one point, they were 1-7 in ACC play and at the same level as a Georgia Tech or Notre Dame, who is definitely out of the picture. But decent metrics and wins over Penn State, Oklahoma State, and North Carolina have kept them around.

After beating Duke in the week prior, Virginia Tech lost to Miami in a shootout, 92-83 on the road. The 0-7 record away from home is a killer for their resume, including setbacks to both Boston College and College of Charleston. But what they were able to do is take care of business at home against the best opponent left on the schedule in Virginia.

After losing to the Cavaliers a couple of weeks before, they got some revenge this weekend. The final score was 74-68 in the team’s third Quad 1 victory of the year. There’s only one other Quad 1 opportunity left in the regular season, with a future road matchup at Duke. Miami and Pittsburgh are also at home, two “must-win” games for them.

In all reality, the Hokies have likely dug themselves a hole too big to come out of, as any Quad 3 or 4 loss going forward would be a fatal blow. But with a month left in the regular season, they haven’t yet been eliminated from the race, which is impressive considering where they were previously.