Busting Brackets
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Bracketology 2020: North Carolina, Michigan headline this week’s losers

By Andrew Dieckhoff

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a play in the second half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on December 7, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts to a play in the second half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on December 7, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Big Blue, mascot for the Utah State Aggies, reacts as they take on the Washington Huskies during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Big Blue, mascot for the Utah State Aggies, reacts as they take on the Washington Huskies during the first half of the game in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

UTAH STATE

There’s something wrong with the Aggies.

Sure, their loss to BYU in Salt Lake City on Saturday was just the second of the season for Craig Smith’s team. But it was indicative of a continued struggle to perform up to expectations over the past few weeks. The Aggies hit their high-water mark with a win over LSU on November 22 and were looking like they might start sniffing at the Top 10 of the national polls.

But since then, they’ve…

  • struggled to put away North Texas;
  • lost to Saint Mary’s;
  • let San Jose State hang around for a half;
  • got taken to overtime by a 3-7 Fresno State team; and
  • lost to BYU.

And perhaps the most confounding part of all is that Neemias Queta returned to action in the middle of that stretch.

Queta was a cornerstone of Utah State’s success last season, earning an All-MWC First Team nod to go along with his Defensive POY and Newcomer of the Year awards. But after injuring his knee during FIBA play for his native Portugal, the sophomore missed the first few games of the season. It seems that the Aggies’ chemistry may have been altered by his absence, and so far, they haven’t been able to pick up where they left off last March.

The Aggies will stay in the top two of the Mountain West, but with San Diego State still unbeaten, there’s some daylight starting to creep in between the teams. That separation means that, suddenly, Utah State needs to start thinking a lot harder about their resume. They are no longer the runaway favorite to win the league.

Furthermore, there are plenty of traps on their conference schedule—not to mention dates with Florida and South Florida next week. These early losses to WCC are not helping Utah State’s at-large case, especially when they may be directly competing with both Saint Mary’s and BYU for those few bids held aside for mid-majors.

For our next Bracketology Loser, we channel our inner Hugh Jackman and go from Logan to the Wolverines.

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