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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Duke, Baylor assigned early lock status

By Lukas Harkins

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Bubbles in the air at The Boleyn Ground during the Betway Cup match between West Ham Utd and SV Werder Bremen at Boleyn Ground on August 2, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 02: Bubbles in the air at The Boleyn Ground during the Betway Cup match between West Ham Utd and SV Werder Bremen at Boleyn Ground on August 2, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Gonzaga Bulldogs high five. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
TUCSON, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 14: Gonzaga Bulldogs high five. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

Lead-Pipe Locks: Gonzaga.

Safely in the field: BYU.

Some perspiration: Saint Mary’s.

Double the deodorant: None.

Gonzaga Bulldogs (18-1, 4-0 WCC)

NET: 7 | KPI: 24 | SOR: 6 | BPI: 4 | KP: 8 | Sag: 3

Q1: 3-1 | Q2: 1-0 | Q3: 5-0 | Q4: 9-0

Gonzaga once again looks the part of being one of the best teams in the country. There’s no reason to argue with that. The Bulldogs are an offensive juggernaut this season behind an underrated backcourt and a star duo of Petrusev/Tillie in the frontcourt ever after several offseason departures. Gonzaga seems to always show up in March despite the narrative surrounding the program and I expect nothing less this season. Gonzaga is a second-weekend team with national title potential.

BYU Cougars (13-5, 2-1 WCC)

NET: 33 | KPI: 49 | SOR: 40 | BPI: 26 | KP: 26 | Sag: 33

Q1: 2-4 | Q2: 1-1 | Q3: 5-0 | Q4: 4-0

BYU, despite playing in a mid-major league and already owning five losses, would make the NCAA Tournament if it started right now. The Cougars have played quite well to begin this season despite the fact that star player Yoeli Childs has missed several games. When he is on the floor, I think that BYU is a Top 25 team in the entire country. As a result, it is crucial that he returns from injury soon and is able to stay a consistent presence on the court. Jake Toolson, though, is the other star worth mentioning for the Cougars as he has been awesome since coming over from Utah Valley with Coach Pope.

Saint Mary’s Gaels (15-4, 2-2 WCC)

NET: 44 | KPI: 32 | SOR: 42 | BPI: 32 | KP: 33 | Sag: 36

Q1: 1-1 | Q2: 4-2 | Q3: 3-0 | Q4: 6-1

Saint Mary’s Q4 loss is a black eye on its otherwise very solid resume. The Gaels have played well throughout this season and feature one of the nation’s best players in Jordan Ford. It is also important to mention that their neutral-site win over Wisconsin in the season-opener is carrying far more weight than many were expecting at the time. Saint Mary’s has struggled a bit to begin WCC play but did snag a win over BYU en route to its 2-2 record. The Gaels are in good shape to dance now but can’t afford too many losses to teams outside of Zaga/BYU in conference play.

Lots of work to do: Santa Clara and San Francisco.

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