Bracketology 2020: Creighton, Michigan State and Texas among biggest winners
Virginia Cavaliers (21-7, 13-5 ACC)
Ever since losing 3 of 4 games and possibly missing the NCAA Tournament altogether in late January, Virginia went back into the same form that won them the national championship last season. They’ve won 9 of 10 since, including wins over Florida State and Duke at home. The victory over the Blue Devils essentially cashed their ticket into the Big Dance and could be rising up the seedlines.
The No. 1 ranked defense continues to be a thorn in the side of the ACC foes and even without a great offense can still make noise in the NCAA Tournament. But first, they still have an outside shot of winning another conference regular-season title, with a home matchup against Louisville still to come. Maybe the ACC is the “Big 4” this season after all.
Texas Longhorns (18-8, 8-8 Big 12)
After four straight losses, head coach Shaka Smart was all but fired from the Texas Basketball job. But since then, the Longhorns have won four straight games, including back-to-back over both Texas Tech and West Virginia. On a slightly negative note, since Oklahoma did the same thing as well, the Red Raiders and Mountaineers are going to slide down many rankings.
But they’re both still Quad 1 victories, doubling what Texas had coming into last week. Their NET ranking also moves into the top-60, which gives them some hope as an at-large contender. What continues to help their resume is a lack of bad losses, none via the Quad 3 or 4 category.
This upcoming week is crucial for the Longhorns, with games against Oklahoma State and
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Oklahoma. The ladder could be a potential bubble elimination game, with the loser likely needing multiple wins in the Big 12 Tournament in order to have a good enough resume to go dancing. But at least Coach Smart has something to play for at the moment, rather than getting his own resume ready for the offseason.