It was the first week of conference play, so there are only home and road battles to observe. That means there are plenty of Quad 1 and 2 opportunities for teams to improve their resumes. In the past week alone, some teams got big wins, putting them in the latest edition of Bracketology winners.
West Virginia Mountaineers - 11-2 (2-0 Big 12)
When starting forward, Tucker DeVries suffered an injury, and it looked as if the Mountaineers would finally fall down to Earth. However, they opened Big 12 play with one of the season's most impressive wins, winning 62-61 on the road at Kansas. They followed that up with a 19-point home victory over OK State, one of the few chances at a “bad loss” in league play. West Virginia is now 3-2 in Quad 1 games and is now in the “safe zone” for an NCAAT bid.
Indiana Hoosiers - 12-3 (3-1 Big Ten)
The Hoosiers were without star forward Malik Reneau in the last two games due to an injury. But it didn’t matter, as they defeated both Rutgers and Penn State, with the ladder being a Quad 1 road win. Indiana’s metrics are starting to get better and more importantly, they avoided doing any damage to their resume despite being shorthanded.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies - 14-1 (2-0 Atlantic 10)
The only decent win for the Bonnies is against Providence in the non-con, so they have plenty of work to do to warrant at-large consideration. However, they have my attention from this past week, beating A-10 contender VCU in the league opener, followed by a road win over Fordham, which would’ve been devastating had they lost. With a NET ranking of around 50, St. Bonvaenture is now at least in the mix.
Illinois Fighting Illini - 11-3 (3-1 Big Ten)
In a Big Ten that seems to be jumbled up at the top, Illinois made a case to be No. 1. They went out west and defeated both Oregon and Washington, with the Ducks' victory being in the Quad 1 range. The Illini now has four Quad 1 victories and a top-10 NET ranking, putting them in the mix for a top-3 seed come Selection Sunday.