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

2. James Madison Dukes

Few teams got a Quad 1-caliber victory this past week. But no one in Bracketology was able to get both a Quad 1 and (likely) Quad 2 win so far like James Madison. The Dukes pulled off the biggest upset thus far, beating Michigan State in overtime. They followed that up with a double-overtime thriller win over Kent State, a game that had some big moments.

James Madison was viewed as a preseason contender in the Sun Belt but even with these wins, they’re going to have to dominate the conference to have any shot at an at-large bid. There aren’t any other Quad 1 or 2 opportunities for them going forward. But for right now, as early as it is, the Dukes have an NCAA Tournament resume. We’ll see how long they can keep it up.

1. Arizona Wildcats

As great of a story as James Madison is so far, there’s a more realistic team that got as good a win as anyone will get all season. And that’s Arizona, who came into the No. 2 team’s house and pulled out the road victory. Duke very well might not lose at home for the rest of the season and assuming they’re as good as advertised, they could be in the mix for a 1 seed.

And so will Arizona, now that they got its signature resume win just a few days into the 2023-24 season. With Omuar Ballo and Caleb Love leading the way, the Wildcats look to be in contention for a Pac-12 title and 1 seed in March. Their next shot at getting a massive victory is a couple of weeks away in a neutral site battle vs Michigan State on November 23rd.