Bracketology 2023: USC, Seton Hall and Kentucky suffer big setbacks this week
USC Trojans
After beating UCLA at home and then handling both of the Washington schools, the Trojans were trending in the right direction and on the safe side of the bubble. But the trip to the state of Oregon proved to be very problematic for them, starting with the Ducks.
Oregon has become a legit bubble team itself as of late so their matchup was evenly matched. The result went in the home team’s favor, 78-60. It’s a loss that hurt the metrics but a Quad 1 defeat isn’t the reason why USC made this list. It was what happened in the next game against lowly Oregon State.
The Beavers have a NET ranking in the 200s and even on the road is a near Quad 4 game. And USC managed to lose to them, 61-58, despite 19 points from freshman Vince Iwuchukwu. It’s a stunning Quad 3 defeat that’ll likely tank the Trojans’ own NET ranking into the 60s.
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It’s a case of one step forward, several steps back as USC are now back on the bubble. And Arizona State, who is right there next to them, will decide whether or not the Pac-12 will have five bids or as few as two bids come Selection Sunday. After this week, it’s starting to lean towards two.