Morning folks, and welcome to the Week 7 edition of Bracketology at ClutchPoints! We entered last week knowing that the week ahead was going to be the biggest of the college basketball season so far, and how about the action we saw? Purdue vs. Arizona, North Carolina vs. Kentucky, and Kansas vs. Indiana all delivered in a big way, as did Memphis vs. Clemson and Houston vs. Texas A&M. Michigan State beat the breaks off of Baylor, reminding everyone you can never count out Tom Izzo. James Madison, Houston and Oklahoma all remained unblemished. And most importantly, Connecticut went out west and got a thirteen point win over Gonzaga, bringing my “And One!” prediction winning percentage up to .500. for the season.

So, what's next?

Well, another solid week of college basketball lies ahead of us, and hello, IT'S THE CHRISTMAS WEEK! When Andy Williams sings that it's “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” that's a fact statement in the Giuliano household. When Burl Ives sings “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas,” I do just that. When Dean Martin sings, “Baby It's Cold Outside,” well, that song makes no sense for me because I'm down in South Florida.

Regardless of where you're celebrating, how you celebrate, or who you celebrate with, I hope this week ahead is a great one for you. Until I bring you the next ClutchPoints Bracketology update on December 26th, I hope you're able to spend time with family, drink lots of hot cocoa, watch plenty of college basketball, and get all the gifts you asked Santa for.

Bracketology Bracket

NCAA Tournament Bracketology projections

Bracketology Breakdown

Top Seeds: Purdue (Midwest Region), Arizona (West Region), Kansas (South Region), Connecticut (East Region)

Multi-Bid Leagues: AAC (2), ACC (5), Big 12 (9), Big East (6), Big Ten (6), MWC (3), Pac-12 (4), SEC (9)

Bracketology Bubble Watch 

Last Four Byes: Northwestern, Washington, Florida, TCU

Last Four In: Butler, Utah, New Mexico, South Carolina

First Four Out: Saint Mary’s, Indiana State, Virginia Tech, Oregon

Next Four Out: Indiana, Ole Miss, UCLA, Nevada

Five Most Intriguing Games of the Week 

Virginia vs. Memphis – Tue. Dec. 19th, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN2

Marquette vs. Providence – Tue. Dec. 19th, 8:30 pm ET, FS1

Baylor vs. Duke – Wed. Dec. 20th, 7:00 pm ET, ESPN

North Carolina vs. Oklahoma – Wed. Dec. 20th, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN

Arizona vs. Florida Atlantic – Sat. Dec. 23rd, 3:00 pm ET, FOX

And One! 

I'll be honest with you… as I prepped this week's Bracketology and put together the bracket, I didn't know where I was going to turn for my And One prediction of the week. Then as I started putting this column together, I noticed a pair of games on my “Five Most Intriguing Games of the Week” list that stood out: North Carolina vs. Oklahoma and Arizona vs. Florida Atlantic. Now my guess would be most college basketball fans would look at those two matchups and pencil in North Carolina and Arizona as winners without giving it a second thought.

However, I'm not most college basketball fans. 

For my And One! prediction of the week, I'm taking two underdogs to win outright. Give me Oklahoma and FAU to pull off upset wins over the more established powerhouses.

Past And One! Predictions 

11/6/23 – Maryland will win the Asheville Championship early season tournament (INCORRECT)

11/13/23 – 50 Point Scorer during the week (INCORRECT)

11/20/23 – I will eat entirely too much food on Thanksgiving (CORRECT)

11/27/23 – SEC will win the ACC/SEC Challenge (TIE)

12/11/23 – Connecticut to beat Gonzaga by 10+ points (CORRECT)