BYU Basketball’s Bracketology Outlook Entering Selection Sunday
Mar 17, 2024, 12:58 AM | Updated: 10:29 am
PROVO, Utah – Selection Sunday has finally arrived.
BYU basketball began practicing at the end of September. It’s been nearly six months. After navigating their inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference, BYU is a lock to play in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The questions remain: what seed and perhaps more importantly, what city will they play in?
Bracketology forecasts for BYU basketball entering Selection Sunday
Salt Lake City is one of the four Thursday/Saturday host sites that BYU could play in. BYU hasn’t played NCAA Tournament games in Salt Lake City since 1991 when it defeated a single-digit-seeded team in the Big Dance (7-seed Virginia).
The other three cities that are available to BYU in the 2024 NCAA Tournament first and second round are Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Omaha, Nebraska.
Then within that, BYU can only play in the West and East regions.
Mark Pope’s BYU team finished 23-10 overall, 10-8 in Big 12 play, and was 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference Tournament last week in Kansas City.
BYU’s resume now includes wins over the ACC Tournament Champion (NC State) and Big 12 Tournament Champion (Iowa State).
#BYU’s resume now includes a win over the ACC Tournament Champions.
NC State wins the ACC Tourney for the first time since 1987.#BYUHoops #MarchMadness
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 17, 2024
ESPN/Joe Lunardi: 5-seed vs. Grand Canyon in Salt Lake City
For weeks, Grand Canyon has been a trendy pick to face BYU in Lunardi’s bracketology forecasts. The Lopes punched their automatic ticket on Saturday night in the WAC Championship with a win over UT-Arlington.
Lunardi has recently said that Salt Lake City and Pittsburgh are the top two candidates to host BYU.
CBS: 5-seed vs. VCU in Salt Lake City
The latest update from Jerry Palm of CBS features BYU facing the VCU Rams. BYU always wishes it faced VCU in 2011. The Rams reached the Final Four that season, while BYU was ousted in the Sweet 16 against Florida.
Palm’s 4-seed in the quadrant is Alabama against Yale.
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TeamRankings: 5-seed
BYU is the highest-ranked 5-seed in TeamRankings’ bracketology. What’s noteworthy is that they have Texas Tech, the team that defeated BYU in the Big 12 Quarterfinals, one spot in front of the Cougars in the S-Curve.
Haslam Metrics: 4-seed
While TeamRankings has the Red Raiders in front, Haslam Metrics has BYU as the lowest-rated 4-seed and Texas Tech as the lowest 5-seed. Haslam Metrics also has Kansas as a 4-seed. Who would have thought that BYU and Kansas would be in the same ballpark for seeding for the NCAA Tournament coming into the year?
Heat Check CBB: 5-seed vs. VCU
The Heat Check CBB crew has BYU playing VCU. A big reason for the shift from Grand Canyon and McNeese State is due to all the bid thieves causing the bubble to evaporate.
Blogging The Bracket: 4-seed vs. Samford in Salt Lake City
This might be the best path to a Sweet 16 for BYU. A matchup with SoCon champion Samford and then 5-seed is San Diego State, a team BYU beat earlier the season. Plus, it’s in the Delta Center. That’s a favorable setup for BYU.
Looking at where BYU’s opponents land in Bracketology
Nine of BYU’s opponents on the 2023-24 schedule land in the composite compiled by the Bracket Matrix. Here’s where those teams land entering the weekend.
- Houston – 1-seed
- Iowa State – 2-seed
- Baylor – 3-seed
- Kansas – 4-seed (Down from a 3-seed last week)
- San Diego State – 5-seed
- Texas Tech – 5-seed (Up from a 7-seed last week)
- Texas – 8-seed
- TCU – 9-seed
- Oklahoma – 10-seed (Down from a 9-seed last week)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
