Bracketologist puts USC as last four in, playing Wake Forest in NCAA First Four in Dayton

If you were told, right now, that USC would make the First Four in Dayton, would you take that scenario? One bracketologist currently thinks that will happen.

We’re one week from February, five weeks from March, and six and a half weeks until Selection Sunday. There are still a ton of games left to be played, but it’s not an endless river of games. Some teams have eliminated themselves from at-large consideration or, at the very least, have come very close.

Bracket talk is getting started. Resumes and scenarios are coming into focus. An understanding of what teams need to make the 2023 NCAA Tournament is becoming more detailed.

We have been telling you that USC — after beating Arizona State — is not far behind the Sun Devils on the bubble, and that the Trojans are right near the cut line for the NCAA Tournament, either in a last four in or first four out position.

Bracketologist Chris Dobberteam of Blogging the Bracket appeared on the College Basketball Coast 2 Coast podcast with T.J. Rives. On the broadcast — released Tuesday afternoon, before Tuesday night’s games — Dobbertean projected USC meeting Wake Forest in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

The First Four means no automatic inclusion in the Round of 64. That’s the bad news. The good news: It means inclusion in the NCAA Tournament. USC would probably take that deal if given it right now, but the Trojans will ultimately have to play their way into the field. That’s the importance of this Thursday’s game against UCLA.

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