Busting Brackets
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Bracketology 2024: 1st projected field of 68 of the 2023-24 season

By Jason Burgess

The bracket banner is updated on the side of the J.W. Marriott with the results of the first day of games during the 2021 NCAA Division I basketball tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports
The bracket banner is updated on the side of the J.W. Marriott with the results of the first day of games during the 2021 NCAA Division I basketball tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports /
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Bracketology Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Bracketology Purdue Boilermakers center Zach Edey Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports /

Midwest Region (Detroit)

(1) Purdue vs. (16) Radford
(8) BYU vs. (9) Colorado
(5) Kentucky vs. (12) Dayton
(4) Villanova vs. (13) Grand Canyon
(6) San Diego State vs. (11) Providence/Virginia Tech
(3) Baylor vs. (14) McNeese State
(7) USC vs. (10) James Madison
(2) North Carolina vs. (15) Lipscomb

We’ll start the first iteration of the field with the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region and the top overall seed, the Purdue Boilermakers. Fresh off a Maui Invitational title that saw them outlast a star-studded field, Purdue entered December unblemished with four quad 1 wins in their pocket but proceeded to lose their first Big Ten game in overtime to Northwestern on Friday. Three neutral-site wins over Tennessee, Gonzaga, and Marquette are still enough to keep Matt Painter’s team at the top of the bracket. The question is how long can they stay there considering they still have non-conference tilts with Alabama and Arizona before Big Ten play begins in earnest.

There are some interesting teams in the rest of the region as well, including national runner-up San Diego State, a resurgent North Carolina team, and nationally ranked for the first time ever James Madison. The Tar Heels have been aided by transfers Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan, and the play of freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau, who has four assists per game in the first month of the year. James Madison set the college basketball world ablaze in their opener by going to East Lansing and knocking off Michigan State. They haven’t looked back since, winning the rest of their November games by an average of 13 points.

If there is a team in this region to watch it has to be the No. 5 seed Kentucky Wildcats. John Calipari’s Cats finished November 6-1, ending it with a bang, a 95-73 win over No. 8 Miami. Kentucky averaged over 94 points per game in November and had six players in double figures including four freshmen. Rob Dillingham, D.J. Wagner, Reed Sheppard, and Justin Edwards have been phenomenal for Kentucky. The reason the Cats aren’t seeded higher is their schedule thus far with four quad four games and just one in the first quadrant.

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