Bracketology 2024: Duke, Dayton and Kansas among week’s winners
By Joey Loose
Kansas
Atop the rankings to start the season, the Jayhawks certainly entered the season with enormous expectations, especially with the addition of All-American Hunter Dickinson. Kansas made quick work of their first two opponents in the opening week of the season, but faced a much stiffer challenge in week two.
They headed to Chicago to take on Kentucky as part of the Champions Classic and certainly got a legitimate challenge from a strong Wildcats squad. In the end, Kansas got an early resume-building win with a 5-point victory over those Wildcats, with great efforts from both Dickinson and Dajuan Harris Jr. The Jayhawks remain the top-ranked team in the nation and this certainly didn’t change that, but a win like this is currency when competing for those top seeds with the Selection Committee in March.
Duke
When Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor announced they’d be back for their sophomore years, the stock at Duke certainly rose even more. The Blue Devils were already bringing another impressive freshman class to Durham and the talent on this Duke squad is off the charts. A home loss to Arizona on the first Friday of the season certainly dulled that stock, but week two was far more productive.
The Blue Devils had a great opportunity in Chicago at the Champions Classic and came through, securing a 9-point win against Michigan State. Freshman Caleb Foster had his first great performance with 18 points and the Blue Devils bounced back nicely from that loss four days earlier. Additionally, it’s a result that likely remains their first Quad 1 win of the season and certainly gets their resume on track for March.