Bracketology 2024: 5 games with early season momentum building on the line

The old saying goes, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. When it comes to the college basketball season I’d argue it’s more like a speed walk. Yes, the season is five months long, but once it starts, it’s gone in the blink of an eye compared to other sports. One minute we’re watching games in Maui and the next it’s Michigan vs. Michigan State in January. Before we know it, we’re staring Championship Saturday in the face on the eve of Selection Sunday.

For that reason, the entirety of the college basketball season holds extreme importance from game one until the Big Ten tournament champion is crowned. That is why the Weekend Watchlist will come to you from the first week in November until championship week. Each week we will look at college basketball’s biggest storylines heading into the weekend through the lens of bracketology. That could mean taking a look at the weekend’s biggest matchups or a common theme among games or teams that will have ramifications come March.

Now that you have an idea of what the weekend watchlist is about, it’s time to get to the meat and potatoes of why we’re here, the action on the floor, and what it means for March.

Postseason resumes aren’t built in the first week, but the foundation can certainly be started.  Momentum and confidence are two very important things in sports and they can go either way, especially at the beginning of a season. In the inaugural weekend watchlist of the year we are going to take a look at five games that will give the winners a boost of confidence and momentum early on and the loser will be looking for the right footing in the early stages of the year.