Bracketology - 2/24/23

 Some teams are obvious, and some teams sneak up on you. Texas A&M is definitively the latter.

After coming close to making the field last season, it appeared that Texas A&M would not do so this season, having a dreadful non-conference that included losses to Wofford and Murray State (both Q4). It appeared to be another season of mediocrity for Buzz Williams' crew.

But they have had the most amazing turnaround. They have dominated SEC play, going 13-2 to start and being a Top 10 team since conference play has begun. While there is some scheduling luck (Bama and Tennessee only once, and both at home), A&M has done what many bubble teams fail to do, and that is to win. As a result, a team not sniffing the field even a couple of weeks ago is now a rapidly rising 8 seed.

We will see which teams take that continued ascent, and which ones fall short. But it will be a very entertaining race to the finish. And as always, check out http://www.bracketmatrix.com/ for others.

South

1 Alabama (1) Birmingham, AL

16    Howard (67)/Fairleigh Dickinson (68)

8 NC State (32)

9 Rutgers (33)

5 Xavier (19)

12    Kent St (50)

4 Indiana (14) Albany, NY

13    VCU (51)

6 TCU (21)

11    Memphis (42)

3 Marquette (11) Columbus, OH

14    Yale (55)

7 Maryland (25)

10    Florida Atlantic (38)

2 Baylor (7) Denver, CO

15    Colgate (59)

Midwest

1 Houston (2) Birmingham, AL

16    UNC-Asheville (64)

8 Missouri (31)

9 Pittsburgh (36)

5 St Mary’s (17)

12    Charleston (48)

4 Iowa St (15) Orlando, FL

13    Drake (53)

6 Illinois (24)

11    West Virginia (43)/USC (45)

3 Tennessee (9) Greensboro, NC

14    Eastern Washington (58)

7 Michigan St (26)

10    Auburn (37)

2 Texas (5) Denver, CO

15    Samford (60)

East

1 Purdue (3) Columbus, OH

16    Morehead St (65)/Alcorn St (66)

8 Duke (29)

9 Kentucky (34)

5 Creighton (20)

12    Liberty (49)

4 Virginia (13) Albany, NY

13    Utah Valley (54)

6 San Diego St (22)

11    Wisconsin (44)/Mississippi St (46)

3 Kansas St (10) Des Moines, IA

14    UC-Irvine (57)

7 Providence (27)

10    Boise St (40)

2 UCLA (8) Sacramento, CA

15    Vermont (61)

West

1 Kansas (4) Des Moines, IA

16    Texas A&M – CC (63)

8 Texas A&M (30)

9 Iowa (35)

5 Miami (FL) (18)

12    Oral Roberts (47)

4 UConn (16) Orlando, FL

13    Southern Miss (52)

6 Northwestern (23)

11    Oklahoma St (41)

3 Gonzaga (12) Greensboro, NC

14    Iona (56)

7 Arkansas (28)

10    Nevada (39)

2 Arizona (6) Sacramento, CA

15    Youngstown St (62)

Last Four In

West Virginia

Wisconsin

USC

Mississippi St

First Four Out

New Mexico

Penn State

North Carolina

Texas Tech