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Bracketology 2023: Duke, Penn State, Marquette and Utah State among biggest winners

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 11, 2023; Chicago, IL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard Jalen Pickett (22) reacts during the second half of a basketball game against the Indiana Hoosiers at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 11, 2023; Chicago, IL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions guard Jalen Pickett (22) reacts during the second half of a basketball game against the Indiana Hoosiers at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bracketology Utah State Aggies Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports
Bracketology Utah State Aggies Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports /

Utah State Aggies

As mentioned before, it wasn’t a great week for most bubble teams. Only a few did anything of a positive note during Championship Week. One of them was Utah State, a team with the kind of resume that was a complete mystery on the bubble. They only had one Quad 1 win overall and that came in the regular season finale last week against Boise State.

Despite having a pair of Quad 4 losses, the Aggies have incredible metrics, including a top-25 NET ranking. What they needed to do was add at least a couple of quality wins to make sure they were on the right side of the bubble.

They had a tough but rewarding path in the Mountain West Tournament, starting with New Mexico. Utah State was able to beat the former fellow bubble team with a 91-76 win to continue improving the metrics. And then the Aggies were able to get its second Quad 1 win on the season with a 72-62 victory over Boise State.

Although they lost in the conference title game against San Diego State, 62-57, Utah State certainly won’t lose any of the ground they made this week. If they were on the cutline on Bracketology projections to start out the week, Utah State certainly has greatly improved its odds of hearing its name called on Selection Sunday.

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