Bracketology 2023: USC, Seton Hall and Kentucky suffer big setbacks

Bracketology 2023: USC, Seton Hall and Kentucky suffer big setbacks this week

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 09: Kadary Richmond #0 of the Seton Hall Pirates is introduced before the first round of the Big East Basketball Tournament against the Georgetown Hoyas at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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Kentucky’s Oscar Tshibwe Bracketology Kentuckylouisville 10 /

A month away from Selection Sunday, which means Bracketology is more important than ever. And that also means that programs that either lose important matchups or suffer bad losses are being penalized even more.

For the latest edition of “Bracketology Losers”, here are the 10 programs that did the worst in the past week.

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky entered this week squarely on the bubble, with many projections having them either among the “Last 4 In” or First 4 Out”. That made this week so big, as it was more about defending its position rather than getting big wins. The first game was at home against Arkansas, who is in the field but not fully safe.

It was a close game early on but the Wildcats‘ defense fell apart in the final 10 minutes, losing 88-73. Oscar Tshiebwe had 24 points, while freshman forward Chris Livingston chipped in with 13. This was a Quad 1 loss at home but gave them an even smaller margin of error.

And whatever margin they did have, Kentucky used all of it up and then some on Saturday, losing on the road at Georgia. The final score was 75-68, with Tshiebwe leading the way again with 20 points. This is currently a Quad 2 loss but the Bulldogs are just inside that range, with it easily becoming “Quad 3” in a week or two if they don’t win.

Kentucky’s season is truly on the ropes now after this 0-2 week. They now take on Mississippi State on the road before Tennessee next weekend at home. At this point, the game against the Vols is now a “must-win”.

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