Bracketology 2020: Rhode Island, BYU and Auburn among biggest winners
BYU Cougars – 17-7 (6-3 in WCC)
The metrics absolutely love BYU. Top-30 overall in the NET rankings, top-20 per Kenpom and offensive measurements to die for, the Cougars are going to be a trendy lower-seeded team picked to make a potential run in the NCAA Tournament. That is if they can get there first. It’s not a done deal, with really just a quality road win of Houston to speak of. They don’t have a truly bad loss on their resume, including at San Francisco last week.
This past Saturday presented almost a “must-win” game for not only the Cougars but also their opponent Saint Mary’s who finds themselves in a similar situation on the bubble. The game was tightly contested for all 40 minutes but it ended with a TJ Haws three-pointer in the final seconds to lift BYU to the missive 81-79 home win.
What this win does is it puts the Cougars in tied for second place in the WCC, looking for that No. 2 seed in the conference tournament to automatically make the semifinals. It boosts their resume with a top-40 win and only helps the metrics even more. More importantly, it provides a pathway for BYU to get an at-large bid without needing to beat Gonzaga the rest of the way… as long as they avoid losses to the bottom of the conference this month.
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This team has dealt with a ton of adversity this season, including not having their best player Yoeli Childs for a large portion of the games. But led by Haws, Jake Toolson and a solid group of role players, the Cougars have put themselves in position to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. And if they keep shooting lights out from the field, they’ll be making noise outside of the WCC.