ASU Basketball: Sun Devils on the rise in Joe Lunardi’s weekly bracket

The Arizona State Sun Devils (9-0) are making tremendous strides in the eyes of the national media, rising in the AP and coaches polls as well as ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology.”

Just a week ago the No. 16 Sun Devils were rated as a five seed in the Midwest, with a projected matchup against 12 seed Virginia Tech. Now, ASU is rated as a two seed in the West Region with a projected matchup against UC Santa Barbara.

Arizona State’s three-seed improvement likely stemmed from a dominant 10-point win on the road against then No. 2 Kansas, who had only lost 10 times at Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self Era.

The USC Trojans fell once again from a seven seed to an eleven seed, which would result in a “First Four” play-in game. After moving up from a sixth to a fifth seed, the Arizona Wildcats have moved back to the sixth spot. The Utah Utes are members of the “First Four Out” club and Oregon and UCLA are have been designated “Next Four Out.”

Joe Lunardi’s entire bracket and projections can be found here.