Utah’s 73-69 win over BYU last Saturday continues to pay dividends in the forum of public perception.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released his latest bracketology — it comes out weekly on Tuesdays during nonconference play and twice a week in league play — and he projects the Runnin’ Utes joining the Cougars in the NCAA Tournament field.
What seed did Utah receive in ESPN’s latest bracketology?
Utah (7-2) comes in as a No. 10 seed playing Texas A&M, and among the “last four byes” group.
Last week, Lunardi had the Utes just outside the field as a “next four out” team.
Utah is on a four-game winning streak heading into its final two games of nonconference play against Utah Valley (Saturday) and Bellarmine (Dec. 20). In addition to the victory over BYU, that win streak included beating Saint Mary’s on the road.
The Runnin’ Utes, who are ranked No. 32 in the latest NET rankings, last played in the NCAA Tournament in the 2015-16 season.
Other Pac-12 seeds include Arizona as a No. 1, Colorado as a No. 8 and Washington as a No. 11 (among the final four in).
What seed did BYU receive in ESPN’s latest bracketology?
BYU (8-1) is slotted as a No. 4 seed playing UC Irvine in Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament projections.
That is the same as last week, even with the Cougars suffering their first loss of the season. Lunardi continues to predict that BYU will play in Salt Lake City (the Delta Center will host the first two rounds this season).
The Cougars still have four games remaining before kicking off Big 12 play in their first season in the league. BYU has Denver (Wednesday), Georgia State (Saturday), Bellermine (Dec. 22) and Wyoming (Dec. 30) left in nonconference action before starting Big 12 action with a home game against Cincinnati (Jan. 6).
BYU, which is ranked No. 3 in the NET rankings, last played in the NCAA Tournament three seasons ago.
There are nine Big 12 teams projected for the NCAA field in ESPN’s predictions. In addition to BYU, that includes Kansas (as a No. 1 seed), Baylor (No. 2), Houston (No. 2), Oklahoma (No. 4), Texas (No. 8), Iowa State (No. 9), Kansas State (No. 9) and Cincinnati (No. 11, among last four in).
