BYU Returning To NCAA Bracketology Forecasts During Win Streak
Jan 31, 2025, 11:45 AM | Updated: 11:50 am
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball is getting back into NCAA Tournament Bracketology forecasts.
The Cougars are currently on a three-game winning streak within Big 12 play. Their last win, a 93-89 overtime thriller over Baylor, was BYU’s first Quad One victory.
The heartbreak from losing four of five games sent BYU out of Bracketology projections. However, once you stack up wins in a league like the Big 12, your outlook for March can change quickly.
All three of BYU’s wins in this current win streak have come against Big 12 opponents. The victories over Colorado and Cincinnati qualified as Quad Two wins on BYU’s team sheet.
BYU has a bubbly game ahead on Saturday at UCF. Like the Cougars, UCF is hovering around the NCAA Tournament bubble in many Bracketology forecasts.
ESPN/Joe Lunardi Bracketology: First Four Out
Before the three-game win streak, BYU wasn’t registered on Joe Lunardi’s bracket. Lunardi has BYU as the third team out of the field behind Xavier and VCU.
He placed BYU ahead of Arizona State, a fellow Big 12 foe the Cougars defeated on December 31.
Lunardi’s last team into the 68-team field on his Friday projection is UCF.
Jon Rothstein: First Four Out
College Basketball Insider Jon Rothstein ranked BYU second out of the field, behind North Carolina in the ACC. In Rothstein’s “First Four Out, ” BYU is ahead of Arizona State and Nebraska. Remember, this is only January.
BRACKET BREAKDOWN.
– Which 68 teams are in as of today?
– Top 16 seeds
– First Four Out
– Other things to nosh onhttps://t.co/EJtWl3VoWF— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) January 31, 2025
Sports Illustrated: Last Four In vs. Pitt
SI’s Kevin Sweeney has BYU into the NCAA Tournament field. Being the final team into the bracket would send BYU to Dayton, and Sweeney projects Kevin Young’s squad would face the Pitt Panthers.
One spot in front of BYU in Sweeney’s “Last Four In” is Saturday’s opponent, UCF.
Heat Check CBB: First Four Out
BYU is the first team out of the field in Lukas Harkins’ Bracketology for Heat Check CBB. What’s interesting in his bracket is that Baylor, who BYU defeated earlier in the week, is in the grouping of teams with “Last Four Byes.” The Bears are slipping in some bracket forecasts.
BYU is in the “First Four Out” ahead of Arizona State, Indiana, and Wake Forest.
TeamRankings: 10-seed vs. Creighton
The TeamRankings Bracketology tabs BYU as a 10-seed, and based on their S-Curve rankings, would have the Cougars playing 7-seed Creighton from the Big East.
TeamRankings gives BYU a 59.1% chance of making the NCAA Tournament.
FOX Sports: First Four Out
BYU is the second team out of the field behind SMU in Mike DeCourcy’s projection. It’s like the football season all over again.
First Four Out designation could send BYU to a new postseason tournament
There is still a lot of basketball left to be played in the 2025 season. However, many of these “First Four Out” projections for BYU basketball would put the Cougars in a spot where they could land in a new postseason tournament.
The new College Basketball Crown will be held in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena from March 31 to April 6 and will air on FOX and FS1.
The College Basketball Crown tips off this year – you ready? https://t.co/Ox4E7xYSxB pic.twitter.com/hYrSDPUqRv
— College Basketball Crown (@CBBCrown) January 24, 2025
The College Basketball Crown gives two automatic bids to the top teams from the Big East, Big 12, and Big Ten that have not been selected for the NCAA Tournament.
So, if BYU was a “First Four Out” team at the season’s end, they could be headed to Las Vegas for their postseason destination.
The better move would be to keep winning to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
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.
