<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2dwZOJ_1Gv5oVME00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2dwZOJ_1Gv5oVME00" width="1000" height="715" ></figure>Welcome to Blaze Bracketology, a new weekly series on Blaze Radio where I, Angus Trangmoe, will talk about my weekly NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament projection.Every Monday, I’ll discuss some of my risers and fallers in the bracket and share my favorite games to watch in the coming week.A quick disclaimer: This is a space where all tournament teams are good tournament teams. I respect Long Island just as much as I respect Duke.RISERS:Memphis (10 seed | Last week: Out)UCLA (5 seed | Last week: 7 seed)Saint Louis (11 seed | Last week: 12 seed, Last 4 In)Memphis is my team of the week. The Tigers went into what was basically an Iowa State home game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and handed the Cyclones a season-opening loss, then pulled out a gritty one-point win at home against fellow strong mid-major VCU.Everything Memphis did in those wins ran through fourth-year guard Jayden Reid, who dropped a game-high 26 points against Iowa State and a career-high 32 against the Rams.Reid’s heroics are a dream start to Penny Hardaway’s ninth season at the helm in Memphis, and I’m moving the Tigers ahead of Wichita State as the new favorites to win the American.UCLA also had a great week, taking down Arizona in Las Vegas on the first day of the season before barnstorming North Florida at home behind 29 efficient points from first-year forward Nikola Kusturica, one of my favorite newcomers in the country.No one will be raising their voice at Mick Cronin for the Bruins’ hot start, but he needs to perform this season as his seat is particularly hot heading into 2026-27.Finally, Saint Louis took over the Enterprise Center and took care of in-state foe Missouri with a healthy dose of buckets, going 52.4% from the field and a blazing 56% from 3-point range in a 90-84 winThe duo of fourth-year guard Trey Green and third-year forward Ishan Sharma is primed for huge seasons under Josh Schertz, and with Robbie Avila possibly returning to the Billikens, this team could be genuinely scary come March.With VCU’s aforementioned loss to Memphis, I’m moving Saint Louis into the Atlantic 10 autobid this week.FALLERS:Purdue (10 seed | Last week: 6 seed)Oklahoma (Out | Last week: 10 seed, play-in)Every year in college basketball, there are upsets in the first week of the season that just make zero sense.Even then, the losses that Purdue and Oklahoma took last week are unfathomable.First, the Sooners opened their season with a signature SEC non-conference softball game, hosting the expected Southland cellar dweller East Texas A&amp;M.In reality, that softball was a nasty riser that buckled Oklahoma at its knees, as the Lions went into Norman, Oklahoma and took down the Sooners, 68-64, as a 28.5-point underdog.Speaking of softball, Oklahoma canceled a softball exhibition with East Texas A&amp;M the day after the upset due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Do with that information what you will.After that, the Sooners rolled in the buy game to end all buy games against Mississippi Valley State, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Oklahoma is falling out of the field by a wide margin this week.Then, on Friday, while everyone else in the country geared up for a loaded college football slate, Boilermakers fans decided to ignore their football team as usual and focused on Purdue basketball hosting Valparaiso to open its home slate after a close but promising loss to Gonzaga to start the season.What ensued in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, that night is an early contender for game of the year, as the Beacons cashed in two buzzer-beating 3-pointers to end both overtime periods. Third-year guard Justus McNair delivered the dagger with a game-winner at the horn to lift Valpo to an 83-80 double-overtime victory.Although the Boilermakers’ loss took some otherworldly shot-making from the Beacons, it’s still an undoubtedly bad look for a team that showed a lot of potential against the Zags just four days earlier.Purdue falls to the 10-line, but I would not be surprised at all if the Boilermakers start moving up again soon.GAMES OF THE WEEK:Duke vs. Michigan State (Tuesday, 5 p.m. MST, ESPN)Illinois @ Texas Tech (Tuesday, 6 p.m. MST, Peacock)UC San Diego @ Utah State (Friday, 8 p.m. MST, CW)Cancel your Tuesday plans, because the college basketball menu is stacked.To start, the State Farm Champions Classic will pit Duke against Michigan State head-to-head in Chicago before Kansas-Kentucky square off in the nightcap.For now, we’ll just look at the matchup between the Blue Devils, currently a No. 1 seed, and the Spartans, currently a No. 2 seed.Duke is widely regarded as one of the top two teams in the nation, alongside Florida, featuring one of the most balanced attacks in college basketball.On the other side, Michigan State boasts one of the best players in the nation in fourth-year point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who comes into this game averaging a double-double with 12.5 points and 10 assists.Now, we’ll move from one of America’s most marketable cities, Chicago, to … not one of its most marketable, Lubbock, Texas, where defense-minded Texas Tech will host the high-octane offense of Illinois.Something’s got to give in this one. The Red Raiders are only surrendering 50 points per contest in the early stages of the season, while the Fighting Illini are averaging 116 points per game.Lastly, I’ll always try to feature a game outside the power conferences that I’m really looking forward to. This week, it’s UC San Diego making the trip to Logan, Utah, to face off with fourth-year guard Mason Falslev and Utah State.Falslev is “the Mayor of Logan” for a reason: he stayed with the Aggies after getting calls from every school under the sun in the offseason. Right now, his squad is sitting nicely as a No. 9 seed.As for the Tritons, currently a 14-seed as the autobid from the Big West, they come into this game upset-minded, behind an offense that isn’t lacking in weapons at any level of the floor. Keep an eye out for fourth-year forward Leo Beath, who is coming off a 24-point performance on 10-for-13 shooting and 4-for-5 from 3-point range in UCSD’s decisive 81-65 win over Fresno State last week.</div></body>

Block Source: blazeradioonline.com

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

UCLA (5 seed | Last week: 7 seed) Saint Louis (11 seed | Last week: 12 seed, Last 4 In) Memphis is my team of the week. The Tigers went into what was basically an Iowa State home game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and handed the Cyclones a season-opening loss, then pulled out a gritty one-point win at home against fellow strong mid-major VCU.

Blaze Bracketology: Memphis rises, Purdue plummets after wild first week

NewsBreak

UCLA (5 seed | Last week: 7 seed) Saint Louis (11 seed | Last week: 12 seed, Last 4 In) Memphis is my team of the week. The Tigers went into what was basic

Blaze Bracketology: Memphis rises, Purdue plummets after wild first week

Comments