Bracketology 2024: Latest Bubble Watch of key teams in mid-February
By Joey Loose
Utah (15-9) (NET: 49)
3-6 (Q1), 4-2 (Q2), 3-1 (Q3), 5-0 (Q4)
Nonconference wins over Wake Forest, Saint Mary’s, and BYU all became Quad 1 victories in what became an eventful slate for the Utes. That win over the Cougars was at home, but they went to Moraga to beat the Gaels while adding decent Quad 2 wins against the likes of Colorado and Oregon in recent weeks.
In more troubling news, the Utes have already been swept by both Arizona schools, including a Quad 3 home loss to Arizona State this past weekend. The other Quad 2 loss was a rough performance at Stanford, while Utah also lost road rematches with both Washington schools in late January.
The Pac-12 hasn’t been great this season, limiting Utah’s chances to make an impression. They quite frankly poured lighter fluid on their resume after losing at home to Arizona State last weekend, especially rough after coming close in a triple overtime loss against Arizona. They’ll have to refocus with three straight road games, including a Quad 1 chance at Colorado in less than two weeks.
Villanova (13-11) (NET: 41)
3-6 (Q1), 3-2 (Q2), 3-3 (Q3), 4-0 (Q4)
Things were looking great early in the season at Villanova, as the Wildcats won the Battle 4 Atlantis, picking up Quad 1 wins over Texas Tech and North Carolina. That other Quad 1 was a road game at Creighton back in December, though there hasn’t been too much else to celebrate recently for the Wildcats.
What will keep the Wildcats out of the NCAA Tournament is their awful showing in the Big 5, with Quad 3 defeats against Penn, Saint Joseph’s (at home), and Drexel. The saving grace is that they haven’t had any bad performances in Big East play, though a 20-point loss at St. John’s certainly doesn’t look great.
The Wildcats have won just two of their last eight games, though they came in blowout wins against Providence and Seton Hall. The record itself isn’t ideal and the Wildcats just need to start winning some of these games. All six losses in that stretch came against Quad 1 foes meaning a lot of missed opportunities. They have to take advantage before March.