Bracketology 2020: Possible high-major bid thieves in conference tournaments
UCLA
Prior to its heartbreaking loss to USC over the weekend, the Bruins had rattled off seven straight wins in the Pac-12 and were tied atop the standings, igniting talk of possible at-large consideration, despite having started the season with an 8-9 record and home losses to Hofstra and Cal-State Fullerton.
No disrespect to those teams, but those are not good losses for UCLA. With its at-large hopes seemingly dashed at Southern Cal, UCLA will look to replicate Oregon’s performance from last year and win the Pac-12 tournament. UCLA is the 2-seed and will look to start its run vs. the winner of the Stanford-California opening-round matchup.
Bid Thievery Index: 6.5 out of 10.
San Francisco
The Dons are the “best of the rest” in the West Coast Conference after perennial powerhouses Gonzaga, BYU, and St. Mary’s. The first season of the Todd Golden area continued the prosperity found under Kyle Smith, and San Francisco has weapons at its disposal to make its semifinal matchup with Gonzaga interesting. To be sure, it’s a longshot bet for the Dons to take down the mighty Zags, but if perchance they were to do so, a finals matchup with either BYU or St. Mary’s looms, and San Francisco already holds a win over BYU from earlier this year.
Bid Thievery Index: 1.5 out of 10 (though no offense to the rest of the WCC, this is the one for which we will be rooting the most!).
Next. 2002 ACC Tournament preview. dark
As Championship Week gets going and we are privy to the greatest two week stretch of sports in the calendar year, let us be mindful of those Bubble teams waiting with bated breath for the high major conference tournament favorites to hold serve in their respective tourneys, lest one fewer Bubble spot be available to them at the hands of those dreaded Bid Thieves!