Bracketology 2020: Duke/Syracuse, Saint Mary's/BYU among best games

Bracketology 2020: Duke/Syracuse, Saint Mary’s/BYU among week’s best matchups

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 20: Elijah Hughes #33 of the Syracuse Orange reacts to a made three-point basket as teammate Buddy Boeheim #35 gestures against the Louisville Cardinals during the first half at the Carrier Dome on February 20, 2019 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 04: Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

10. Stephen F. Austin (17-3, 8-1) at Sam Houston State (14-6, 7-2) – Saturday, Feb 1

I may be in the minority for this but I still think Stephen F. Austin has an outside shot at an at-large bid. Two of their losses (Rutgers and Alabama) look better each passing day, while still having the best possible win for a resume, beating Duke on their home floor. But with a tough one-point loss versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a NET ranking above 80, the Lumberjacks at best can only afford one more loss to have any hope. But Liberty falling along with other mid-majors struggling should be a small sign of optimism.

It’ll be tough to get past Sam Houston State, one of the top-scoring offenses in the country. They have a pair of recent overtime wins and are led by a pair of 14 ppg scorers in Zach Nutall and Kai Mitchell. The Southland schedule has been easy for the Lumberjacks so far but this upcoming week will test them for sure.

9. West Virginia (16-3, 4-2) at Texas Tech (12-7, 3-3) – Wednesday, January 29

Last week was not good for the Red Raiders. They took an upset loss to TCU, before being unable to beat Kentucky at home in overtime. Not only will Texas Tech be unranked this season but all of a sudden, their at-large hopes are also in question. They have just the win over Louisville, while the DePaul loss (without Jahmi’us Ramsey) looks worse since league play started.

The game on Saturday at Kansas would be an even bigger win but facing West Virginia at home is an easier task for the Red Raiders. The Mountaineers would still be a Quad-1 huge win anyways and would avenge the 12-point loss in Morgantown a couple of weeks ago. They have to at least split this week’s games, or else fall to 12-9 (3-5) with an entire month’s worth of upcoming contests that can hurt far more than help their resume.

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