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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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Bracketology Indiana Hoosiers forward Trayce Jackson-Davis Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Indiana Hoosiers

The biggest reason why the Hoosiers are viewed as a “winner” is that they had one of the more surprising seed selections, getting a 3 seed. That’s even after losing on the road at Northwestern, who is now second in the Big Ten standings.

It helps that the Hoosiers have wins over Purdue, Xavier, Michigan State, and Wisconsin, along with great metrics such as the overall strength of schedule. They also have a win over Illinois, which is a projected 5-7 seed as well. They faced them on Saturday, having the advantage of not dealing with their leading scorer, Terrence Shannon Jr.

He was out with a concussion yet the Illini put the fight to Indiana, leading for 95% of the game. But the 5% where they didn’t was at the very end, with the Hoosiers storming back to get the 71-68 home win. Trayce Jackson-Davis had another National Player of the Year performance, scoring 26 points and 12 rebounds.

It’s another Quad 1 victory for the Hoosiers and now they could be making a case for a 2 seed if one of the Big 12 programs falters. They have two tough, but major opportunities up next on the road at both Michigan State and Purdue.

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