Bracketology 2021: Arizona State and Cincinnati highlight biggest losers

Furman Paladins

There is no dispute that Furman is one of the best mid-major teams in the country. There is also no argument that in both of their opportunities to move the needle for the committee to possibly secure themselves an at-large bid was missed. Furman had the lead for most of the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide before getting into some foul trouble late in the game.

Their star player Clay Mounce fouled out and that changed the game and allowed Alabama to secure the victory. The Paladins were making shots and playing good defense, but they got destroyed on the offensive glass and when losing their best player, they just didn’t have the juice to keep up.

The Paladins still are going to have a chance to make the tournament, but it is not going to be the at-large route. Paladin fans should still sleep well knowing that Furman looks to be the best team in the Southern Conference and know that the automatic bid is out there. Hopefully, Furman plays their best basketball in the conference and can win the conference tournament to get themselves in the NCAA tournament.

The loss to Alabama was the end of the power conference games for Furman, and on Saturday afternoon Furman lost to Winthrop. The game against Winthrop was their last opportunity to get a huge resume-boosting win out of the conference. The three losses the Paladins have to both Alabama and Cincinnati are not terrible losses but they are all to teams who may not make the tournament.

Alabama plays in the SEC and is likely going to get enough wins to not make that a terrible loss. Cincinnati is a huge question mark and does not appear to be a tournament team right now. Winthrop is the class of the Big South but is going to have a hard time getting an at large from that conference.

Furman is not going to have too many more opportunities for a top-75 win that they likely would have had if they would have won these games. The Paladins are lucky if more than one team is able to supply them with a quad 1 or 2 win in the Southern Conference. The conference has not been as good as many thought it would be at least in the early goings of the season. Outside of winning the conference tournament, Furman is likely out.