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Bracketology 2020: Notre Dame/Virginia, NC State/Syracuse among big matchups

By Tristan Freeman

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - JANUARY 11: Buddy Boeheim #35 of the Syracuse Orange shoots over Casey Morsell #13 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on January 11, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - JANUARY 11: Buddy Boeheim #35 of the Syracuse Orange shoots over Casey Morsell #13 of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first half during a game at John Paul Jones Arena on January 11, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Tad Boyle of the Colorado Buffaloes (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Tad Boyle of the Colorado Buffaloes (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

8. Memphis (17-6, 6-4) vs Cincinnati (15-8, 8-3) – Thursday, Feb 13

It was a miserable past week for the AAC outside of the Houston Cougars. Memphis, Cincy, Tulsa and Wichita State all lost games they shouldn’t have, putting into question how many tourney bids the conference will get in the end. That makes games like this all the more important, with the Bearcats needing this victory at home.

The Tigers have a brutal stretch in their remaining games. Including this Thursday against Cincinnati, five of the last eight games are on the road, while two of the three at home include Wichita State and Houston. With DJ Jeffries, the team’s second-leading scorer likely out for this week, Memphis will have to find a way to get enough offense to win. If they lose to the Bearcats and can’t win on the road, what started out as a promising season could easily fall apart.

7. Colorado (19-5, 8-3) vs Oregon (18-6, 7-4) – Thursday, Feb 13

The top teams in the Pac-12 face off this week, with Colorado leading overall after the Ducks fell at Oregon State this past week. You have to imagine that they fell out of the top-16 overall seeds, as they previously were slotted as a 4. The Buffaloes have a tough schedule remaining in the regular season, with five of the last seven coming on the road. If they can survive it, they’ll be in a great position for a top seed of their own, buoyed by the previous overtime win over Dayton.

This is just about a must-win for Oregon, knowing that they already lost to Colorado in Boulder earlier this season. A loss here would essentially put them three games behind in the standings, losing the tiebreaker.

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