Welcome to a brand new weekly characteristic on the Hotline. We’ll break down Huge 12 basketball utilizing key metrics (NET rankings, KenPom scores, and so forth.), our observations and a dose of old style sarcasm (when wanted) — all within the identify of offering followers with the state-of-play in one of many nation’s hardest conferences.
(Outcomes listed for video games up to now week.)
Brigham Younger matched Arizona basket-for-basket for 32 minutes Tuesday evening within the largest residence recreation the Cougars have performed since endlessly. However within the time it takes to blow a bubble, they collapsed.
A one-point deficit was a double-digit gap and, ultimately, an 85-74 loss that might resonate for weeks to come back.
To be clear: The result was extra missed alternative than self-inflicted wound. A victory would have tremendously enhanced their NCAA Match resume. The much less dependent the Cougars (15-7) turn into on the whims of the choice committee, the brighter their outlook.
They realized that lesson in soccer.
Sure, we’re taking the cross-sport plunge, an endeavor the Hotline sometimes avoids. However there are too many parallels in Provo to disregard.
For causes that stay hidden, BYU’s soccer crew by no means obtained the credit score from the School Soccer Playoff choice committee it seemingly deserved primarily based on schedule energy, Huge 12 efficiency and, in fact, the head-to-head victory over SMU.
Then once more, the Cougars relinquished management of their postseason with the November loss to Kansas. As soon as in possession of BYU’s destiny, the choice committee shrugged and tossed the Cougars apart.
That’s exactly the state of affairs the basketball crew should keep away from. The Cougars should polish their resume to the purpose that the choice committee has no selection however at hand them one of many 37 at-large bids. Eradicate the uncertainty. Finish the controversy on the court docket so it doesn’t lengthen to the committee’s convention room.
A victory over Arizona would have offered rocket gas. As a substitute, the Cougars stay in at-large purgatory with quickly diminishing alternatives to vary their trajectory.
They host Kansas in two weeks, go to Arizona and welcome Iowa State to city in early March.
One marquee victory received’t safe a spot, not if the Cougars flounder unexpectedly.
However one marquee victory and the avoidance of unhealthy losses seemingly can be sufficient — sufficient to get them off the bubble, sufficient to erase the doubt and sufficient to side-step the destiny that befell BYU in a unique sport two months in the past.
To the ability rankings (with final week’s right here for reference) …
1. Houston (18-4/10-1 Huge 12)
Outcomes: received at West Virginia 63-49, misplaced to Texas Tech 82-81 (OT), beat Oklahoma State 72-63Best win: at KansasWorst loss: vs. San Diego StateNET rating: 3Comment: We proceed to surprise if the paucity of high quality non-conference wins particularly — and the Cougars’ middlin’ non-conference schedule typically — would possibly undermine their case when the choice committee seeds the NCAA Match discipline.
2. Arizona (16-6/10-1)
Outcomes: received at Arizona State 81-72 and Brigham Younger 85-74Best win: vs. Iowa StateWorst loss: vs. OklahomaNET rating: 9Comment: The 16-point loss at Texas Tech just a few weeks in the past shouldn’t be practically the blemish it appeared on the time given the Pink Raiders’ latest surge. And guess who visits Tucson this weekend for a mammoth recreation within the Huge 12 race.
3. Texas Tech (18-4/9-2)
Outcomes: beat TCU 71-57, received at Houston 82-81 (OT), beat Baylor 73-59Best win: at HoustonWorst loss: vs. St. Joseph’sNET rating: 7Comment: If Iowa State hadn’t transformed a game-tying layup with one second remaining in Lubbock final month (resulting in its extra time win), the Pink Raiders can be tied with Houston and Arizona within the convention standings, with wins over each of their pocket.
4. Kansas (16-6/7-4)
Outcomes: misplaced at Baylor 81-70, beat Iowa State 69-52Best win: vs. DukeWorst loss: at CreightonNET rating: 8Comment: With out these November wins over Duke and Michigan State, the Jayhawks would have a reasonably modest resume and the narrowest of paths to a No. 1 seed. Their ends in 2025 haven’t been worthy of a top-line place.
5. Iowa State (17-5/7-4)
Outcomes: misplaced to Kansas State 80-61 and at Kansas 69-52Best win: at Texas TechWorst loss: vs. Kansas StateNET rating: 11Comment: If the loss to KSU was beautiful and the margin downright surprising, the context was really unprecedented: The Cyclones turned the primary top-five crew in AP ballot historical past to lose at residence by a minimum of 15 factors to a sub-.500 opponent.
6. Baylor (14-8/6-5)
Outcomes: beat Kansas 81-70, misplaced at Texas Tech 73-59Best win: vs. St. John’sWorst loss: vs. TCUNET rating: 28Comment: It might be fairly the twist if Baylor’s finest outcome seems to be a one-point victory over St. John’s and never a double-digit win over Kansas.
7. Brigham Younger (15-7/6-5)
Outcomes: received at UCF 81-75, misplaced to Arizona 85-74Best win: vs. BaylorWorst loss: at UtahNET rating: 34Comment: When the Cougars wanted a basket on Tuesday evening, the set offense proved far too simple to include. The place have you ever gone, Jaxson Robinson? Cougar Nation turns its annoyed eyes to you.
8. West Virginia (14-7/5-5)
Outcomes: misplaced to Houston 63-49, received at Cincinnati 63-50Best win: vs. ArizonaWorst loss: vs. Arizona StateNET rating: 39Comment: Arduous to imagine a crew that has overwhelmed Gonzaga, Arizona, Kansas and Iowa State can be on the NCAA bubble, however the Mountaineers are quickly headed in that course.
9. UCF (13-8/4-6)
Outcomes: misplaced to Brigham Younger 81-75Best win: at Texas TechWorst loss: vs. BYUNET rating: 63Comment: We’ve reached the Huge 12’s third tier, beneath each the NCAA Match locks and the bubble sitters, to the gathering of groups that want scorching finishes to safe spots within the at-large discipline.
10. TCU (11-10/4-6)
Outcomes: misplaced at Texas Tech 71-57, beat Colorado 68-57Best win: at BaylorWorst loss: vs. UtahNET rating: 78Comment: To proceed the thought above: The Huge 12 is monitoring for eight NCAA bids, or 50 p.c of the convention. Given the preseason hype, that final result can be (as the children say) very mid.
11. Kansas State (11-11/5-6)
Outcomes: beat Oklahoma State 85-57, received at Iowa State 80-61 and Arizona State 71-70Best win: at Iowa StateWorst loss: vs. LibertyNET rating: 79Comment: So Jerome Tang didn’t overlook the way to coach, in spite of everything? Or possibly he has quickly forgotten that he forgot the way to coach? If the Wildcats beat Kansas this weekend, it’s most likely the previous.
12. Arizona State (12-10/3-8)
Outcomes: misplaced to Arizona 81-72 and Kansas State 71-70Best win: vs. Saint Mary’sWorst loss: vs. Kansas StateNET rating: 61Comment: Certain, freshman Jayden Quaintance missed two free throws with 4 seconds left that might have received or tied the KSU recreation. However the Solar Devils ought to by no means have been in that place at residence in opposition to a crew that was beneath them within the standings only a week in the past — and is now staring down at ASU.
13. Utah (12-9/4-6)
Outcomes: misplaced at Oklahoma State 81-72Best win: at TCUWorst loss: vs. IowaNET rating: 82Comment: We foresee three wins, at most, down the stretch — the schedule is kind of rugged — and a poor end definitely would name into query coach Craig Smith’s job safety.
14. Cincinnati (12-9/2-8)
Outcomes: misplaced to West Virginia 63-50Best win: vs. XavierWorst loss: at Kansas StateNET rating: 53Comment: The Bearcats are 0-6 in opposition to Quadrant I opponents and 7-0 in opposition to Quadrant IV groups and thus meet the very definition of mediocrity on the planet of NCAA metrics.
15. Oklahoma State (11-11/3-8)
Outcomes: misplaced at Kansas State 85-57, beat Utah 81-72, misplaced at Houston 72-63Best win: vs. Kansas StateWorst loss: vs. NevadaNET rating: 102Comment: A resistible drive meets a moveable object Sunday when Arizona State pays a go to to Stillwater. We count on a winner, however you by no means know.
16. Colorado (9-12/0-10)
Outcomes: misplaced at TCU 68-57Best win: vs. UConnWorst loss: vs. CincinnatiNET rating: 105Comment: With every passing week, the victory over Connecticut turns into tougher for the human thoughts to grasp.
