College Basketball Bracketology: January Winds Down

Another round of college basketball games ticked off the calendar and there is just one weekend of games remaining in January. That means the NCAA Tournament picture continues to get clearer. The latest bracketology update starts off the new week.

My bracket is part of the bracket matrix under entry RWX. It is my 6th year doing a bracket and you can see my ranking here. I’m sharing my bracketology here on TheSabre.com. Discuss it on the message board.

Virginia did what it needed to do last week taking care of its home court against Virginia Tech and winning a road game against Wake Forest. Those performances not only boosted the Hoos chances to take the ACC Regular Season Championship, but also added two quality wins to the resume (Q2 for the VT win and Q1 for the WF win).

As of this update, I have Virginia as my top 3 seed. Things have actually been going in the Cavaliers’ favor the last couple of weeks with lots of teams around them losing. I still think a 1 seed is only possible if they win out and win the ACC Tournament or maybe make the Final and lose a close game to another really good team, but a 2 seed seems a little more realistic to start the week then it did a week ago with the way Virginia is playing. That stuff will take care of itself if UVA just keeps winning.

The only game for Virginia this week is a landmine game against Boston College at home. It would be a Q4 loss if it happened and likely knock the Cavs down a couple seeds. Such is life in the ACC this year. A win likely keeps UVA on the 3 seed line and, who knows, if a team or two above them has a bad week, the Hoos could move up with a convincing win over BC.

Here is the full bracketology breakdown through Monday, Jan. 23.

RaleighHOO's Bracketology 2023

• Last Four In: WVU, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh
• First Four Out: Boise St., Kentucky, Creighton, Ohio St.
• Next Four Out: Nevada, Oklahoma St., Seton Hall, Mississippi St.

Notes on my selection process:

1. I don’t create matchups. My goal is to match the NCAA S Curve and select the right teams. Honestly the bracketing procedures are too tedious.
2. Conference champions (* teams) in the pre-conference tournament brackets are picked by the team with the highest conference winning % at time of bracket creation. If there is a tie, the team with the highest NET is picked.
3. Brackets will be updated at least on Monday and Friday. As we get closer to the end of the season and during conference tournament weeks, it will be updated every day.