BYU gets 2 shots at marquee wins to help its case for a bid to March Madness

By Canadian Press on February 17, 2025.

BYU enters a big week for its NCAA Tournament chances.

The Cougars (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) get a pair of chances for a resume-topping Quadrant 1 win. BYU hosts No. 23 Kansas on Tuesday, then travels to No. 19 Arizona on Saturday.

BYU’s record was 3-6 in Quadrant 1 games and 4-2 in Quadrant 2 as of Monday, while BracketMatrix.com’s average of 87 mock brackets had the Cougars hovering on the right side of the bubble as a No. 11 seed and appearing in 80 projected fields.

BYU ranked 36th in the NET, and anywhere from 26th to 35th in analytics rankings by KenPom, Bart Torvik and Evan Miyakawa.

Bubble watch

Vanderbilt at No. 17 Kentucky, Wednesday. The Commodores (17-8, 5-7 Southeastern Conference, No. 41 NET) are in the mix under first-year coach Mark Byington, though they’re just 2-7 in Quad 1 games.

Wake Forest at N.C. State, Saturday. This starts a do-no-harm stretch for the Demon Deacons (19-7, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 58 NET) after last week’s late collapse at home against Florida State resulted in a Quad 3 loss. There’s only one game left to really boost their chances (at No. 3 Duke on March 3), so there’s little margin for error.

No. 13 Purdue at Indiana, Sunday. The Hoosiers (15-11, 6-9 Big Ten, No. 57 NET) are just 2-11 in Quad 1, with this being the biggest game remaining on the schedule.

Key ratings

Oklahoma: The Sooners (No. 52 NET) have lost four straight, though Tuesday’s trip to No. 2 Florida is a shot at a fifth Quad 1 win.

VCU: The Rams (No. 34 NET) have positive metrics, such as being ranked 29th for Miyakawa and in the 30s for KenPom and Torvik. But they’re just 1-1 in Quad 1 games and might need the league’s automatic bid.

Xavier: The Musketeers (No. 54 NET) are just 1-8 in Quad 1 games and don’t have another ahead.

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Aaron Beard, The Associated Press

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