Bracketology 2024: Gonzaga, Miami, Texas, and Virginia among week's biggest losers

Miami Hurricanes

I debated on whether Miami warranted being a “loser” this past week since they did get an important road win over Virginia Tech, easily a Quad 1 victory. However, it was overshadowed by their shocking home loss to Louisville, one of the worst power conference teams in all of NCAA Basketball.

The 80-71 setback is a guaranteed Quad 4 loss and one that’s going to haunt the team on Selection Sunday. The Hurricanes do have a top-60 NET ranking and 5-3 against Quad 1/2 opponents so they should be on the right side of the bubble. But losing to the Cardinals has erased all of the margin of error they had before.

Virginia Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have their own bad ACC loss already, losing on the road at Notre Dame. And they’re now 2-3 in league play after losing to both Wake Forest and NC State. The losses themselves aren’t the problem but from a metrics and eye test, Virginia looked awful, losing by 35 points combined.

UVA has a NET ranking in the 60’s, and now is 1-4 against Quad 1 competition. Plus, they don’t look good on the court. They have Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech coming up and if they can’t get a sweep, it’s time to start thinking of them not being an NCAA Tournament team.