BYU Basketball Inching Forward in Joe Lunardi's Bracketology
After a big win in Moraga last Thursday night against St. Mary's, BYU moved into the field of 68 according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. The win on Thursday night was very important - it was only the second time the Cougars had taken down St. Mary's in Moraga and the Cougar's first win at St. Mary's since 2014. On Saturday night, the Cougars capped off the weekend sweep with a win at San Francisco.
BYU is now 3-1 in WCC play after Thursday's victory over Portland with their three most difficult road tests in the rearview mirror. The Cougars winning streak has taken them from a bubble team to a no. 10 seed in Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology.
If the season ended today, according to Lunardi, #10 BYU would face #7 UConn for an opportunity to play #2 Iowa or #15 Sam Houston State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
BYU also improved to #38 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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