BYU Basketball Jumps Up to a 5-Seed in Latest Joe Lunardi Bracketology
The NCAA Tournament is just over a week away. As BYU prepares for the Big 12 tournament later this week, there is no doubt whether the Cougars will be in the NCAA Tournament field or not. Thanks to an eight-game winning streak to close out the regular season, the Cougars went from a bubble team at the start of February to an NCAA Tournament lock.
On Sunday, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi updated his NCAA Tournament projections. After beating Utah and capping off another unbeaten week in Big 12 play, the Cougars improved from a 7-seed to a 5-seed.
In Lunardi’s projections, BYU would play 12-seed Drake in the first round in Denver, Colorado. The winner of BYU-Drake would advance to take on the winner of Wisconsin-High Point for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Last year, Lunardi projected BYU as a 5-seed and the selection committee ranked BYU high enough to be a 5-seed. Due to Sunday play, however, the Cougars were bumped down a seed-line and ended up as a 6-seed.
Getting to a 5-seed would greatly improve BYU’s chances to move past the first round of the tournament. However, Drake would be arguably the toughest draw of the 12-seeds. Drake is 30-3 this season and recently won the MVC conference championship.
One win in the Big 12 tournament could secure a 5-seed for BYU in the NCAA Tournament. Two wins in the Big 12 tournament could push BYU up another seed-line.
