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Bracketology 2021: Duke, Michigan State and Houston among biggest losers

By Tristan Freeman

ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 08: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on in the first half of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on February 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 08: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on in the first half of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on February 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Bracketology Andrew Jones Texas Longhorns (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
Bracketology Andrew Jones Texas Longhorns (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

Now that we’re in the month of February, NCAA Basketball fans are focusing more on the Bracketology side of things. With how has already been shortened by a month, postponements and cancellations of games have changed how teams are being looked at.

There are teams that have played more than 20 games to this point, while others have barely cracked 10. And remember, teams must play at least 13 total games to qualify for the NCAA Tournament unless given a waiver by the NCAA.

But these scenarios were already expected, especially by the teams. Which makes just about every game played important. The wins are big but so are the losses. And in this past week, we’ve seen a number of teams fall. Some aren’t as big of a deal, while others have major implications.

Between those on the bubble and others safely in the field of 68, here are some honorable mentions, along with the top-5 teams who were the biggest “Bracketology Losers” this week.

Texas Longhorns (11-5, 5-4)

With Baylor and Gonzaga all but locked in as 1 seeds, there are several programs in the mix to try and get one of the other two. The Longhorns, who came into the week in the top-5 overall rankings, was one of them But that ship may have sailed after this week, losing to Baylor in a tight game and falling to Oklahoma State this Saturday in double-overtime. Neither loss was bad at all but when you consider that Texas had three of the next four on the road and several more ranked Big 12 opponents left, they probably will be looking for a 2 or 3 seed.

Boise State Broncos (14-3, 10-2)

The Nevada Wolf Pack is a young but talented team that’s going to play spoiler in the Mountain West this month. They proved in on Friday by beating Boise State at home, with another contest set for Sunday. This isn’t a bad loss on paper for the Broncos but the conference has four teams vying for likely three bids to the NCAA Tournament. And that’ll be based on the top teams not losing to anyone outside of each other. Boise State didn’t do that, putting pressure on them not to lose more games against anyone not name San Diego State or Utah State the rest of the way.

UConn Huskies (8-4, 5-4)

Losing at home to Seton Hall isn’t the worst thing in the world. However, they’ve lost three of four and still don’t have their best player, James Bouknight back. Their resume right now consists of just a win over USC, with four of the next five games all coming from the road. They have little margin of error in the next couple of weeks and will need Bouknight back as soon as possible.

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