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Bracketology 2023: Duke, Auburn, Texas and UCLA among biggest winners

By Tristan Freeman

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 04: Kyle Filipowski #30 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after making a three-point basket during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean E. Smith Center on March 04, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Duke won 62-57. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 04: Kyle Filipowski #30 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after making a three-point basket during the second half of the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Dean E. Smith Center on March 04, 2023 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Duke won 62-57. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Bracketology Penn State Nittany Lions guard Myles Dread Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports /

Selection Sunday is literally just one week away, with Bracketology taking center stage in all of college basketball. This past week was the last of the regular season and for some teams, a final chance to enhance their respective resumes.

Quite a few took advantage of the opportunity, and I’ll be discussing them more later. That includes a few Big Ten teams, which all played on Sunday. As of this writing, Michigan and Rutgers’ games haven’t tipped off. Had they won, I would’ve included them in this piece.

But I’ll be talking about the one bubble team that won earlier on Sunday, along with the 10 other clear winners when it comes to the Bracketology.

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Lions were 5-9 in Big Ten play at one point, essentially on the wrong side of the bubble. But led by All-American candidate Jalen Pickett, Penn State made a big Bracketology comeback, including two wins this past week.

The first game was on the road at Northwestern, winning 68-65 in overtime. And they followed that up with a last-second win at home against Maryland, coming back from 16 points down at one point. These are both Quad 1 victories since the Terrapins are in the top 30, giving Penn State a 9-11 record against Quad 1/2 opponents.

There still is work to do in the Big Ten Tournament but the Nittany Lions have put themselves in a position where a couple of wins, depending on who it’s against, can do the trick.

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