Bracketology 2020: Duke, Butler, Auburn among this week’s losers

The shortlist of teams competing for a #1 seed shrunk a bit this past week, as teams like Duke, Butler, and Auburn all took multiple losses to affect their Bracketology

We are now officially less than two months away from the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, but it’s hard to tell whether the Bracketology picture is actually getting any clearer.

Teams such as Duke, Butler, and Auburn all seemed like mortal locks for top-two seeds just seven days ago. Now, after each of those teams suffered two losses last week, their fates are much more up in the air.

Likewise, other top teams stumbled at least once throughout the week. West Virginia and Kentucky both lost head-scratchers on the road. The Big Ten just continues to knock each other around, with Michigan State the only team to have separated itself by much.

Still, there were plenty of losses to go around. And not just for the top teams.

A number of squads came up short while desperately trying to hold on to their last-ditch Big Dance dreams. It is getting to the point of the season when there is simply not enough time left to make up for old mistakes. And there’s definitely not enough time for these teams to be going out and adding new issues for themselves to overcome.

So, as we careen ever closer to the Promised Land of March, let’s stop once more and take a look at the teams that did a disservice to themselves this past week. As we always do, we will begin with the ACC and run through all of the so-called “power conferences”, before turning to the American and the nation’s mid-majors.

Did your team make the list?