Projecting BYU basketball’s March Madness seeding using qualified professionals
The NCAA Tournament has a way of bringing out the best in a sport that many will still ignore in favor of the NBA. I get it, that Inside the NBA Crew is TV gold, and we may never witness a halftime, pregame, or other analysis show quite like it.
Unless, of course, you still want to watch Ernie Johnson struggle to catch Charles Barkley up with every team not named Auburn at the last possible second.
BYU basketball is a fierce competitor in the Big 12 and the nation as a whole since flipping the switch in February and reenacting Kansas State’s shocking run through the conference’s giants in the middle of the season.
Here’s the theory: when the Cougars took down the Wildcats and halted their hot streak, Kevin Young’s roster absorbed their power. This is why both teams won over Iowa State in Ames, and Kansas and Arizona — Richie Saunders gazed across the bar and boldly declared, “I’ll have what he’s having!”
Who are we to deny a man what he wants?
Now with the Big 12 Tournament only one game away from its official formation, the Cougars are locked into the fourth seed and a double-bye in the blocky bracket format. Standing among giants like Houston, Arizona, Texas Tech, and Iowa State, BYU has arrived — there’s simply no denying it. Credit due to Kevin Young and his roster for finding their identity and elevating their play to match the best teams in the nation.
But as exciting as BYU’s run through the tournament may be, the real question lies in BYU’s path through the field of 68. A tournament lock, the 22-8 Cougars are ranked 23rd in the AP Poll (likely to take a significant jump if they can handle business against Utah), and still has the potential to rise in their seeding.
In their current position, the most likely matchup for the Cougars’ first Big 12 Tournament game will be a grudge match against the hornets’ nest that is the Iowa State Cyclones, and no one will fault the Cougars for dropping the second meeting against a team of that caliber. Win, however, and BYU’s potential to rise will be very real.
I’d love to project BYU’s tournament seeding based on my own metrics. The types of numbers and statistics that I spent months agonizing over to ensure my system is rock-solid. I’d have spent hours in a darkened library lit by nothing but a tabletop candle (and my laptop screen, I suppose) to craft the perfect formula to project the Cougars’ success.
But I’ll just use the opinions of qualified professionals to corral myself.
Bracketology Projections for BYU Basketball
Projections are taken from most recently available Bracketology available.
Joe Lunardi, ESPN: 7 seed
Craig Meyer, USA Today: 7 seed
Jerry Palm, CBS: 7 seed
I’m sensing a pattern here.
I believe the 7-seed is BYU’s baseline assuming a win over rival Utah on Saturday. Should the Cougars advance through the Big 12 gauntlet, a 6-seed could be on the table — especially if that includes wins over Iowa State and Houston. Win the whole thing, and a 5 slot is a very real possibility.
That said, I’ll project the Cougars to stand pat, holding to the 7-seed and hopefully a favorable draw for their first round matchup.
