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Bracketology 2024: Arizona, Memphis and James Madison among early winners

By Tristan Freeman

James Madison's Bryant Randleman and Michael Green III (13) celebrate after beating Michigan State in overtime on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in East Lansing.
James Madison's Bryant Randleman and Michael Green III (13) celebrate after beating Michigan State in overtime on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in East Lansing. /
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Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett Russell Lansford-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett Russell Lansford-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Virginia Cavaliers

It wasn’t a great opening week for the ACC when it came to collective resume-building. Duke missed out on a massive Quad 1 win with Arizona, while teams such as Notre Dame and Louisville took upset home defeats. One team that did come through is Virginia, who got a 73-70 true road win over Florida. So as long as the Gators are a top-75 NET team, that’s an early Quad 1 boost for Coach Tony Bennett’s squad.

Virginia has two fairly easy opponents coming up next in North Carolina A&T and Texas Southern that should get them to 4-0. After that is Wisconsin in the following week in the Fort Meyers Tip-Off Tournament. The Badgers just happened to lose to the team coming up on this list.

5. Tennessee Volunteers

Outside of Vandy and LSU, the SEC had a strong opening week when it came to getting marque victories. That included another road win at a Big Ten team, as Tennessee beat Wisconsin, 80-70. Transfer guard Dalton Knecht had another strong game with a game-high 24 points in the victory.

Although it doesn’t officially count, Tennessee’s exhibition win over Michigan State put the team on the national radar as a potential Final Four contender. And adding this Quad 1 victory over the Badgers puts them off to a strong start with their resume.

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