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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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Houston’s Tramon Mark (12) and Memphis’ Malcolm Dandridge
Houston’s Tramon Mark (12) and Memphis’ Malcolm Dandridge /

Memphis Tigers and Houston Cougars

Bubble teams everywhere are thankful for both Houston and Memphis, meeting up for a third time in the AAC this season. There really aren’t much stakes this time around, as the Cougars are locked into a 1 seed. In fact, with Kansas suffering a loss in the Big 12 Tournament, there’s a chance that Houston could end up as the No. 1 overall seed.

The Cougars easily took care of business this week, dominating both East Carolina and Cincinnati in the AAC Tournament. It wasn’t without issue, as star guard and Conference Player of the Year guard Marcus Sasser suffered an injury. It didn’t look too serious but he’s likely out for the title game against Memphis.

It was thought that the Tigers may have needed the autobid a long time ago, but they’ve managed to avoid any more bad losses and the bubble overall has worked out in their favor. It wasn’t easy at first, as Memphis was in a close fight against UCF in the quarterfinals but came away with the 81-76 win. They followed that up with a blowout win over Tulane, 94-54 and getting revenge for the two regular-season losses to the Green Wave.

Memphis went from the bubble to safely in on Selection Sunday. A win over Houston might even have them in the 8/9 seed range. Either way, the top teams in the AAC did what they needed to do to get their goals this week, making Sunday still an interesting matchup but without much stress on either side.

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