Bracketology 2022: Duke, Gonzaga, UCLA among early big winners
By Joey Loose
BYU
In all likelihood, Gonzaga is going to win the WCC this season, as they seem to do every single season. They may be in a mid-major conference, but the WCC has produced a fair share of solid teams aside from Gonzaga over the years. As a result, the WCC has been a multi-bid conference in the NCAA Tournament, and the early results from BYU may have the conference trending that way again.
The Cougars haven’t had their big tests yet, but passed the first week of the season with two great wins over very solid mid-major programs; two programs that were both in the NCAA Tournament last year. First, they got an opening night win over Cleveland State with a strong 24-point performance from Alex Barcello. Three days later, the Cougars got an even sweeter win, knocking off San Diego State, one of the other premier mid-major powers on the west coast.
A two-bid WCC is better for Gonzaga, though it’s not like Gonzaga needs that help. The reality is that this week helps secure BYU’s finish, giving them a pair of wins that look to be very solid. They immediately get one of those big tests next week with a faceoff with Oregon. BYU’s case for an at-large won’t be made or broken next week, but it was certainly built up with wins over Cleveland State and San Diego State.