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2023 Bracketology: Kentucky, Indiana, and Texas Tech among week’s biggest winners

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 18, 2023; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Oscar Tshiebwe (34) walks off the court after the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2023; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Oscar Tshiebwe (34) walks off the court after the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports /
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Iowa State University Cyclones forward Tre King Texas And Iowa State Ncaa Women Basketball
Iowa State University Cyclones forward Tre King Texas And Iowa State Ncaa Women Basketball /

This was an important week from a Bracketology standpoint in NCAA Basketball. First off, it was the second or third week left in the regular season, depending on which conference you’re in. Secondly, it was the introduction of the top 16 bracket reveal by the Selection Committee, showing where the top teams would be if the regular-season ended today.

I broke down my reactions to the reveal here but there were also plenty of games to observe and analyze as well. There were plenty of “losers”, including Clemson suffering an awful loss to Louisville, along with Oklahoma missing out on a chance for a massive win, losing at Texas in overtime.

But there were plenty of “winners” including the following teams below.

Honorable Mention: Gonzaga Bulldogs

The Bulldogs got a four seed in the West Region and passed over Saint Mary’s despite having an earlier loss to them. Gonzaga followed that up with a pair of road games at LMU, who they lost to earlier, and at Pepperdine, who proved to be tough. The blowout win over the Lions moved their NET ranking close enough to the Gaels where a win over them next Saturday could get them the tiebreaker for the 1 seed in the WCC Tournament.

HM: Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State got a nice home win over TCU this week, yet another Quad 1 victory. They did lose at Kansas State but more importantly, the Cyclones got a 16 overall seed from the bracket reveal. Assuming they win a pair of winnable home games against Oklahoma and West Virginia, they’ll remain there.

HM: North Texas Mean Green

The Mean Green has quietly won eight straight games, including a road victory in overtime over UTEP. They have a resume that’s one of the best in Conference USA, with two of those losses to Florida Atlantic. If they win out and only lose to FAU in the finals of the conference tournament, they have an outside shot of an at-large bid if many things work in their favor elsewhere.

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