BYU Basketball: Cougars are building an NCAA Tournament schedule
By Adam Gibby
Middle Tier- Teams where a win would help, but a loss would still hurt
No. 6 Utah State: RPI- 157
Utah State plays in a better conference than Weber State or Illinois State which is why they are considered middle-tier. The Aggies struggled in the Mountain West last season, finishing eighth in the conference, however they still managed to pull at 17-17 overall record. Next season, the Aggies shouldn’t lose much talent as they are only graduating two seniors who scored a combined 10 points per game. They’re ranked higher than UNLV mainly for this reason.
No. 5 UVU: RPI- 91
Before you turn away, hear me out, UVU is going to be good next year. Coach Mark Pope has turned the UVU program around. In the seasons before Coach Pope arrived, the Wolverines were winning anywhere from 10-15 games a season. In two seasons, the team has turned around to having 22 wins and finishing second in the WAC. I really believe that next season, despite losing many seniors, the Wolverines will find a way to win just as many games as this season, which would put their RPI in the mid eighties.
No. 4 San Diego State: RPI- 64
San Diego State finished this season as an eleven seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing by one possession to six seeded Houston. Although the Aztecs lose much production from this season, their style of basketball does not need any stars. Last season, SDSU had five players average more than ten points, but had zero average over thirteen points. This should be a solid team and would provide the Cougars a very good road win. A loss however, could be slightly damaging.