Bracketology 2021: BYU, Utah State, and Virginia among biggest winners

BYU Cougars

It was a brutal start to West Coast Conference play for the Cougars, without even stepping onto the court. Three teams had to go on pause due to covid issues, (Pacific, San Diego, Pepperdine), who happened to be the first three opponents on the Cougars schedule. Facing the potential situation of not playing anyone in the first two weeks of league play, the conference switched around the schedule to have BYU go on the road to play No. 1 and unbeaten… Gonzaga.

The result was as expected, with the Cougars getting blown off the floor in the 17-point defeat. But the team remained on the road to take on the next two toughest teams in the conference, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco, a pair of programs with slim at-large hopes of their own.

BYU was squarely on the bubble coming into this week, with some Bracketologists having them barely in and some having them barely out. A split would’ve probably kept them in the same situation but considering the program’s recent history on the road at the Gaels and Dons, they would’ve taken it.

Instead, BYU pulled off the impressive road sweep, holding the Gaels to just two points in the final 10 minutes on Thursday before pulling ahead of the Dons in the final few minutes. That gives the Cougars a 3-3 record in Quad 1 games with zero bad losses elsewhere. Even more important, the team already has completed their three toughest games on the conference slate, with the return matchups against Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, and San Francisco, all being at home later on.

The wins over the Gaels and Dons won’t move them up too much and there still are plenty of minefields in the WCC. But they essentially control their destiny, as long as BYU wins the games they are supposed to going forward.