BYU Bracketology: Where Will the Cougars Land in NCAA Tournament?

It’s March! We all know what that means. The madness begins. BYU has played themselves into a comfortable spot in the bracket, thanks to an eight-game winning streak and winning 12 of their last 14.

The bracket will be made this Sunday, March 16, at 3pm PT.

BYU sits in fourth place in the Big 12 and 26th in NET, which has them squarely in the tournament. The question now is, which seed will they be, and who will they play?

Joe Lunardi, ESPN: 5 seed vs. #12 Liberty (Providence, RI)

This is quite a jump for BYU. For the last several weeks, the Cougars have been hovering around a seven or eight seed. One of the marquee names in the Bracketology business thinks BYU deserves a five. This would be BYU’s highest seed since they earned a three seed during Jimmer Fredette’s senior year in 2011. Obviously, playing Liberty (#66 in NET) offers a good chance to finally advance to the Round of 32 for the first time in 14 years.

USA TODAY: 5 seed vs. #12 McNeese State (Denver, CO)

Like Lunardi at ESPN, USA TODAY is among the media outlets highest on BYU’s seeding projections. They even have BYU playing much closer to home, in Colorado. That crowd would be very pro-BYU. McNeese State ranks 61st in NET and is a beatable opponent in round one.

TeamRankings.com: 6 seed vs. #11 Utah State

Wouldn’t this be juicy? A possible tournament matchup between in-state rivals who have not played against each other in over three years. The Aggies have stumbled down the stretch, but still remain strongly in the field at 37th in the NET rankings. USU won a Round of 64 game last year as an eight-seed against the Big 12’s TCU. They wouldn’t be intimidated by BYU. This would be one of the fiercest matchups of any in the first round of the bracket.

Jerry Palm, CBS: 7 seed vs. #10 Arkansas (Lexington, KY)

Palm is not as high on the Cougars are Lunardi at the moment. A seven seems to be where the near-consensus lies for BYU’s tournament fate. Perhaps if they win a game or two in Kansas City, they could play themselves into a five. In this scenario, BYU draws the Razorbacks (#39 in NET) from the best conference in college basketball this year, the SEC. That certainly would be a stiff test for BYU. Arkansas went to back-to-back Elite 8s in 2021 and 2022. They aren’t strangers to the pressures of March.

Sporting News: 7 seed vs. #10 Vanderbilt

This would be a tough draw for BYU. Vandy is in the top basketball conference this year in the SEC. They are battle-tested to the core, with 13 Quad 1 games (5-8). They’ve beaten Tennessee and Kentucky. The Cougars would need to bring their A-game to avoid the dreaded 7/10 upset so many have succumbed to before.

Bracket Matrix: 6.73 seed

The Bracket Maxtrix does not break it down by the bracket itself, matchup by matchup. It takes into account several dozen bracket projections from elsewhere and averages it out. At this point, BYU is trending towards a seven seed. That can turn into a six seed with favorable seeding by the committee. Still, BYU seems headed for a single-digit seed and should be ahead of the dreaded 8/9 seed line.