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

By Tristan Freeman

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)
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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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – MARCH 15: J’Von McCormick #12 and Samir Doughty #10 of the Auburn Tigers (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – MARCH 15: J’Von McCormick #12 and Samir Doughty #10 of the Auburn Tigers (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

8. Richmond (15-5, 5-2) at VCU (15-5, 5-2) – Tuesday, Jan 28

The Spiders put up a tough fight against top-10 Dayton last weekend, falling 87-79 despite a combined 50 points from Jacob Gilyard and Nick Sherod. It was their one and only opportunity at the Flyers in the regular season so for Richmond to have any at-large hopes going forward, they’ll have to get at least one win over VCU the rest of the way.

The Rams are in a much better position than Richmond Bracketology-wise (38 vs 55 in NET rankings) but still have work to do solidifying themselves in the Big Dance. They, along with Rhode Island represent the best chances for the Spiders to move the ladder. If Richmond doesn’t get this one against VCU or the one in a few weeks, the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March will be the only way to go.

7. Kentucky (15-4, 5-1) at Auburn (17-2, 4-2) – Saturday, Feb 1

After they each had some struggles in the week prior, both Auburn and Kentucky rebounded in the last few days to reestablish themselves as the top teams in the SEC, along with unbeaten LSU. That sets up a big-time matchup this Saturday, with the return game in Lexington coming a month from now.

As of now, both teams are around 18-22 in the NET rankings and have a projected NCAA Tournament seed in the 4-6 range. At times, these teams look like top-10 worthy nationally and have the talent of a 2-3 seed. But the only way to move up is to get a win like this, especially the Wildcats who need to offset some of those previous bad losses.

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