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

By Andrew Dieckhoff

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 31: Vernon Carey Jr. #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after dunking against the Boston College Eagles during the first half of a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 31, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 31: Vernon Carey Jr. #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after dunking against the Boston College Eagles during the first half of a game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 31, 2019 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 16: Head coach Jamie Dixon of the TCU Horned Frogs (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 16: Head coach Jamie Dixon of the TCU Horned Frogs (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

West Virginia

West Virginia has separated itself into the top-tier of the Big 12 over the first few months of the season, showing that they are clearly among the best four teams in the league. But the daylight between the Mountaineers and the league’s top two squads—Baylor and Kansas—grew over the weekend.

Bob Huggins’ team pulled off a massive win over TCU during the week, pounding the Frogs by a score of 81-49. But on Saturday, the Mountaineers completely laid an egg against a Kansas State team that is still under .500 on the season. The Wildcats ended up landing a knockout punch on WVU, eventually leading to an 84-68 win in Manhattan.

It was just the third loss of the season for West Virginia, but it might be enough to keep them out of a top-2 seeding in the NCAA Tournament. That’s assuming the Mountaineers don’t find a way to score big wins in back-to-back February matchups against Kansas and Baylor. They also need to make sure that whatever happened against KSU doesn’t happen next week against Texas and Missouri, because West Virginia should not be losing either of those games.

TCU

The Horned Frogs jumped out to a 12-3 record overall and a 3-0 mark in the Big 12, but there were concerns that those numbers might be empty. Jamie Dixon’s best wins on the season are over OK State, George Mason, and UC Irvine.

Those early Big 12 wins weren’t exactly impressive, though. They barely survived their first two games against Iowa State and Kansas State, winning each of those games by just two points apiece. Then, TCU beat the Cowboys by a meager score of 52-40.

But as TCU took on its toughest competition to date, the holes in their team became more evident. First, the team was completely outclassed on the road against West Virginia, falling by 32 points in Morgantown. Then, they lost to Oklahoma by 20 points in Norman. In combination, those losses show a lack of competitiveness against the top talent in the league.

The Frogs have two chances to change the opinion of their team next week, as they will host Texas Tech before heading to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. They might need to win both games to stay afloat in the NCAA Tournament field.

Oklahoma State

Well, that just about does it for Mike Boynton’s squad.

A home loss to Texas in the middle of last week started the tide of bad feelings in Stillwater, and the pain continued into the weekend. On Saturday, the Cowboys had then-#2 Baylor on the ropes at Gallagher-Iba Arena, leading by as many as 12 points in the second half.

But then the Bears orchestrated a furious comeback on the backs of an 18-4 run. Oklahoma State squandered opportunities at the end of the game and eventually ended up losing by a score of 75-68. The defeat dropped the Pokes to 0-5 in the Big 12, making it all but impossible for OSU to climb back into at-large contention.

Oklahoma State was a popular pick in the preseason to make it back to the Big Dance, but those dreams will stay on ice unless the Cowboys are able to make their way through the Big 12 Tournament. But winning three consecutive games seems quite unlikely, considering they have yet to win one game in the league.

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