Utah State is the hot team in the state of Utah right now, and as a result, the Aggies saw the biggest gains in ESPN’s latest men’s basketball bracketology released Tuesday.
Compared to this time last week — ESPN also puts out an updated bracketology on Fridays during conference play — here’s a look at where each Utah school moved in the latest ESPN projections:
- BYU’s projection: down three seeds to a No. 6 seed vs. Colorado in the first round, Pittsburgh regional.
- Utah State’s projection: up four seeds to a No. 7 seed vs. Texas Tech in the first round, Charlotte regional.
- Utah’s projection: down one seed to a No. 8 seed vs. Gonzaga in the first round, Omaha regional.
- Weber State’s projection: stayed at a No. 13 seed vs. Duke in the first round, Spokane regional.
Where each team stands right now
Utah State had the best week, highlighted by a thrilling win over then-No. 13 Colorado State that vaulted the Aggies into The Associated Press top 25 poll at No. 20.
Utah State (14-1, 2-0 MWC), which comes in at No. 25 in the latest NET rankings, has a home game against Wyoming Tuesday and plays at UNLV on Saturday, with the chance to extend its 13-game winning streak.
BYU is coming off losing its Big 12 opener at home against Cincinnati, a loss where the Cougars went cold and consequently dropped to No. 18 in the AP poll.
Now BYU (12-2, 0-1 Big 12), which is still ranked No. 4 in the latest NET rankings, must face No. 18 Baylor in Texas on Tuesday as part of a two-game conference road swing that includes a stop at UCF on Saturday.
Utah (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) is coming off a tough road trip to Arizona, where the Runnin’ Utes lost at Arizona State and Arizona, both in blowout fashion.
The Utes, who are now No. 29 in the NET rankings, have both a game at home (Thursday vs. UCLA) and on the road (Sunday at Stanford) this week.
Weber State stepped out of league play last week to participate in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge and beat both South Dakota State and Oral Roberts in close contests.
The Wildcats (11-4, 2-0 Big Sky), who are No. 81 in the NET rankings, return to Big Sky action with road games against Sacramento State (Thursday) and Portland State (Saturday) this week.
What about ESPN’s women’s bracketology?
The Utah women continue to be a projected NCAA Tournament staple as one of the top teams in the ultracompetitive Pac-12.
This week, though, the Utes took another tumble in ESPN’s bracketology.
- Utah’s projection: down one seed as a No. 5 seed vs. Chattanooga in the first round, Blacksburg (Virginia) regional.
The Utes (11-4, 1-2 Pac-12) are coming off a road trip where they went 1-1, beating Arizona State before falling by one in overtime at Arizona.
Next up is a home game Friday against No. 8 Stanford, which jumped to a projected No. 1 seed in ESPN’s bracketology, followed by a home game against California on Sunday.
