We’re just a few days into the 2026-27 college basketball season and we’ve already gotten some notable results. That includes multiple ranked battles, with teams getting early projected Quad 1 victories on their way-too-early bracketology resumes.
Which teams did themselves the biggest favor from the opening week? Here’s a look at the biggest winners from a bracketology standpoint.
UCLA Bruins
The biggest win from the week was the Bruins’ 84-75 win over No. 5 Arizona to open the week. The Wildcats are the preseason favorite in the Big 12 and a perennial national contender, making it a safe bet to be a Quad 1 victory over time. With Gonzaga in December being the only other ranked opponent left in the non-con, there’s now a chance for UCLA to go unbeaten before Big Ten play.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
It was a mild upset to start the season, with Notre Dame winning 74-72 over Villanova in Rome, Italy. The Wildcats were the preseason No. 3 team in the Big East and projected to be a top-50 team overall, which would mean that the Irish landed a Quad 1 win. This is a team picked in the bottom-tier of the ACC and a postseason bet was more likely against them than not. But they could be on the way to changing minds after that season-opening result.
Florida Gators
The Gators are the preseason No. 1 team and looking for back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. A win over top-15 Miami will do fine, winning 77-67. It’s a win that should look nice going forward in the season and with Notre Dame getting an upset win, that future matchup could also boost Florida’s overall resume.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Providence was a preseason darling after some dominant exhibition wins. That makes Nebraska’s 67-58 win over them on Saturday all the more impressive for them. It’s at least a Quad 2 win that could move up by Selection Sunday. Considering the overall weakness of the Cornhuskers non-conference schedule, this was a win they needed to get a signature resume-builder on its resume before Big Ten play.
Memphis Tigers
The biggest overall winner from the first week has to be Memphis, getting massive wins over top-20 Iowa State and A-10 favorite VCU. Jayden Reid scored 58 points combined in the two wins and looks to be a star transfer pickup. They landed at least one Quad 1 win and the Rams win should look great as well. For a program that needs non-con results in their favor to have any at-large hope, this went as good as possible for the American program.
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