Hello and welcome to my Week 8 Bracketology projections right here at ClutchPoints! Allow me to be one of the last to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and boy, if you're an impartial college hoops fan and tuned in to the Florida Atlantic/Arizona game on Saturday afternoon, you were treated to a game that was so good that it felt like an early Christmas gift. My only hope is we get an Elite Eight rematch between the Owls and Wildcats on Easter to see if they can top what was indisputably the game of the 2023-24 college basketball season so far.
The Week 8 slate of games is light before we dive head first into conference play the first week of January, but a subpar schedule wasn't going to stop me from coming back with an updated set of Bracketology projections for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. So peruse at your leisure, enjoy your Christmas gifts, and take some time to relax with your loved ones in this final week of 2023.
Bracketology Bracket
Bracketology Breakdown
Top Seeds: Purdue (Midwest Region), Kansas (South Region), Arizona (West Region), Connecticut (East Region)
Multi-Bid Leagues: AAC (2), ACC (5), Big 12 (8), Big East (5), Big Ten (6), Mountain West (4), Pac-12 (4), SEC (10)
Bracketology Bubble Watch
Last Four Byes: Ole Miss, Northwestern, New Mexico, Washington
Last Four In: Florida, Nevada, South Carolina, Kansas State
First Four Out: Indiana State, Virginia Tech, Butler, Utah State
Next Four Out: Indiana, Oregon, NC State, TCU
Five Most Intriguing Games of the Week
UNC Greensboro vs. Texas – Fri. Dec. 29, 8:00 pm ET, Longhorn Network
San Diego State vs. Gonzaga – Fri. Dec. 29, 9:00 pm ET, ESPN2
Washington vs. Colorado – Fri. Dec. 29, 9:00 pm ET, ESPNU
Creighton vs. Marquette – Sat. Dec. 30, 2:00 pm ET, CBS
Indiana State vs. Michigan State – Sat. Dec. 30, 2:00 pm ET, FS1
And One!
Take another look at the first game listed in my “Five Most Intriguing Games of the Week” and you'll see that UNC-Greensboro/Texas is a surprising inclusion. Like I said, the slate is light this week, but in addition to the Spartans and Longhorns, there are a few other mid-major conference leaders vs. Power 5 matchups on the schedule — McNeese at Michigan, Fairleigh Dickinson at Illinois, Alabama at Liberty, UNC-Wilmington at Arkansas. Now last week I was burned when I predicted that Florida Atlantic and Oklahoma would both get wins. I learned the hard way that in my own predictions column, I don't need to bet parlays if I don't want to. So here's what I'm doing this week… I'm gonna say that one of the five mid-major leaders listed above (UNC-Greensboro, McNeese, Fairleigh Dickinson, Alabama, or UNC-Wilmington) will scored an upset win.
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)
12/18/23 – Oklahoma to defeat North Carolina and FAU to defeat Arizona (INCORRECT)
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