BYU Narrowly Misses the Cut in Joe Lunardi's Latest Bracketology
BYU basketball is 9-3 with quality wins over San Diego State, St. John's, and Utah. After winning their last four non-conference games, BYU made the field of 68 in Joe Lunardi's bracketology. After various cancellations in WCC play and a loss to Gonzaga, however, Lunardi now has the Cougars on the outside looking in. BYU was among the "First Four Out" in Lunardi's latest bracketology.
In Lundardi's December projections, the Cougars were a projected #11 seed and they would have faced Oklahoma in a play-in game. Now, the Cougars will need to boost their resume to qualify for an at-large bid. BYU has an opportunity to get an important win on Thursday night at St. Mary's.
Edit: In fact, according to Lunardi, a BYU win could put them back in the field of 68:
BYU also dropped to #43 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index. Last season, BYU ranked #17 in the the College Basketball Power Index before the NCAA tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. You can learn more about ESPN BPI below:
"The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team's W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily."
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