Wow, I wonder what would have happened...

[EM_Puma]

...if we had lost our game on Saturday on the road.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi downgraded BYU, after a 2-game road sweep, and winning their 7th game in a row, from a 11 seed to a 12 seed. Did I miss something?

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He has us playing Indiana, the 5 seed.

Then Karissa Urry, a "KSL Contributer" calls us a 3rd place WCC team. Last I checked Karissa, BYU was tied for 2nd place with GU and if the season were to end today, according to the first tiebreaker, head-to-head contact, we'd be the 2nd seed in the WCC tournament. Pretty bad when your flagship station can't even get it straight.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=968&sid=19296688&s_cid=rss-968" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess it sucks to be us today.

[KYCoug]

This happens every year about this time. Somehow our accomplishments seem to diminish. SM and GU dropping out of the AP top 25 doesn't help. Then Conferences like the ACC, SEC, and even PAC12 start touting their "conference strength" and pushing for more and more of their under-performing teams to go to the Dance because after all they are Big Time Conferences...Right!!! Stick around it'll get worse, I promise. We better win out and do well in the tournament is all I can say.

Go Cougs!

L Hatton
Louisville, KY

[kjjson]

So I love that the MWC 1st place team lost to Santa Clara AT HOME. Does that make the last team in WCC better than the best team in MWC?

[snoscythe]

Didn't our RPI plummet over the weekend with a number of our former opponents losing, including nearly all the marquee opponents?

[snoscythe]

We beat RPi #274 on Saturday--a win that punished us for taking the court.

Here's how former opponents did since the last Bracketology:
USU - lost to #123 UCSB
UNR - lost to Iona
Wisc - Lost to Mich St
Oregon - Lost to Cal
Virginia - Lost to #158 Clemson
Baylor - Lost to Kstate
Va Tech - Lost to Fl. State
St Mary's - Lost to Loyola Marymount and Murray St
Gonzaga - Lost to San Fran.

So, BYU got dinged for playing a cupcake, and all the teams that were buoying up our RPI lost, and many of them lost games they had no business losing. It was a bad week for our RPI, which is a big part of Lunardi's seeding once he puts you in the dance.

[Gunk]

Problem is our best win on the season is against GU, which right now isn't looking all that marquee. Assuming we end up playing and beating SMC in the WCC tourney, even that accomplishment won't hold as much water as it did a month ago.

As nice as it is for GU and SMC to lose and give BYU a chance to finish tied for 1st in the WCC, it weakens the conference.

Our win over Nevada is looking better. We beat GU on the road and there really shouldn't be any reason to rank GU over BYU.

I'm beginning to wonder if the WCC will even get 3 bids. Thankfully the PAC12 is down and the MWC leaders appear to be slipping as well.

[hawkwing]

I think the best you can count on is a 2 bid league this year, and hope for a 3. But even with the Pac12 being down, they are a BCS league and unfortunately that carries weight. If I were BYU, I'd be considering the best chances to get to the Tourney are to win the conference outright, or win the conference tournament. There are possibilities of it happening other ways, but nothing for sure.

[oldestlion]

I think the best you can count on is a 2 bid league this year, and hope for a 3. But even with the Pac12 being down, they are a BCS league and unfortunately that carries weight. If I were BYU, I'd be considering the best chances to get to the Tourney are to win the conference outright, or win the conference tournament. There are possibilities of it happening other ways, but nothing for sure.

Don't concern yourself with anything other than winning the tournament. That's the only sure way in.

[hawkwing]

I think the best you can count on is a 2 bid league this year, and hope for a 3. But even with the Pac12 being down, they are a BCS league and unfortunately that carries weight. If I were BYU, I'd be considering the best chances to get to the Tourney are to win the conference outright, or win the conference tournament. There are possibilities of it happening other ways, but nothing for sure.

Don't concern yourself with anything other than winning the tournament. That's the only sure way in.

You're right, in that that's the only "sure" way in. But I believe that this year a team that wins the conference outright will get in, even if they don't win the tournament.

[SpiffCoug]

I think the WCC is a three bid league.