NCAA Basketball: Why Michigan, BYU and NC State are underrated in 2019-20

BYU

If the season ended today, 13-5 BYU should be on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble (9-seed per ESPN). The Cougars received the 45th-most votes in the most recent AP Poll but fare better with the analytics (27th in KenPom, 17th in Barttorvik, 26th in Haslametrics).  When one factor in injuries (and a suspension), however, there’s a case to be made BYU is even better, perhaps a surefire top 20 team.

6-8 senior forward Yoeli Childs is capable of being one of the better big men in the sport when he’s healthy and on the floor. Unfortunately for the Cougars, however, he missed the first nine games of the season due to a suspension.

Upon returning December 4th, the forward played really well in a seven-game stretch, averaging 20.9 points on 62.1% shooting. He’s currently out again, however, missing the last two games due to a dislocation of his index finger.

Assuming he returns soon and is healthy the remainder of the season, playing at roughly a top-20 caliber seems to be a reasonable expectation for Mark Pope’s squad. Childs has been present in only one of BYU’s five losses, with the lone defeat to Utah (in overtime) coming in his first game back from suspension.

The losses to Boise State and Saint Mary’s came in overtime as well, and it’s likely Childs would have made the difference in these games. Perhaps the Cougars also could have given undefeated San Diego State’s its only loss if the senior were available (fell 76-71 at home).

BYU has played well even without Childs, and the team should be in a strong position to excel once he returns. Clearly, there’s a case to be made the rankings are underrating the Cougars.