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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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The men’s Memphis Tigers basketball team
The men’s Memphis Tigers basketball team /

4. Memphis Tigers

After beating Jackson State, Memphis took on its first real test of the season in a road battle at Missouri. In the end, the Tigers of the AAC got a convincing 15-point victory. And as long as Missouri remains in the top 75 down the road, Memphis will have gotten its first Quad 1 victory of the year.

Like with Florida Atlantic, being in the AAC doesn’t have opportunities to build one’s resume, making the non-conference pivotal for Coach Penny Hardaway and the Tigers this time. Memphis only has one game next week (Alabama State) but can look forward to the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they’ll face Michigan first in the week after.

3. BYU Cougars

In the past, BYU needed non-conference wins to build its resume without having to rely on beating Gonzaga in WCC play. But now, in the Big 12, the Cougars need non-conference wins to avoid stacking up too many overall losses to have a chance at an at-large bid. Either way, getting a home victory over rival San Diego State is big for the program and its momentum as an “underdog” in its new conference.

There’s a good chance that the Aztecs end up around the 31-75 range in the NET rankings, making this a Quad 2 win. With a ton of Quad 1 opportunities coming, that ultimately doesn’t matter. What does is that BYU might be better than its preseason No. 13 ranking in the Big 12 and could end up in the at-large range, boosted by this recent victory.

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