Bracketology 2024: South Carolina, Richmond and TCU among week's biggest winners

Appalachian State Mountaineers

For the longest time, it was James Madison who had the best chance for an at-large bid in the Sun Belt after its undefeated non-conference performance. However, after getting swept in the regular season to App State, the Mountaineers are the ones with the best resume right now. They have a big win over Auburn, while also being 3-0 against Quad 1/2 opponents overall.

That being said, App State does have four combined losses to both Quad 3 and 4 teams, with a slim chance of two of them moving to the 2 range. If they can get through this three-game road stretch without a loss, they’ll have a real shot at running the table and getting into the bubble picture.

Richmond Spiders

The Spiders have become one of the biggest surprises in the sport, now in sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 for the first time this late in the season. They’re now 7-0, coming off a home win over George Washington and a big home win over a ranked Dayton squad, a clear Quad 1 victory.

A Quad 3 loss at Wichita State is what hurts Richmond but the rest of its resume isn’t in bad shape. They now have a NET ranking around 70 and it’s improving each day. There’s still work to do for this team but after VCU, Duquesne, and St. Joe’s fell back in league play, a second team has emerged in the A-10 for another at-large bid.