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With a last second shot by Andrew Andrews, the Huskies redeemed themselves from last year’s annihilation in Boulder where the team lost by 26 points. The win also lifted the team’s record to 3-3 in the Pac 12 and 14-4 overall. With the win, where does it land them in Bracketology?
At this point, the Huskies RPI is at 44. Even with a sluggish start to conference play, the Dawgs rank 4th in RPI behind Arizona (6), Utah (12) and Stanford (31). Oregon State (65) is right behind UW followed by UCLA (79).
The Dawgs do have a terrible strength of schedule at this point (ranked 112th). Only Oregon State (129) has a worse strength of schedule in the Pac 12.
For those wondering, Stony Brook of the America East leads that conference but with just an 11-8 record and its RPI is down to 93. Also, Dawg losses to Cal with an RPI of 120 and the home loss to the Cougs (RPI of 105) are black marks on the Huskies resume so far.
Fortunately, the Huskies have a win over Oklahoma, which has rebounded since the loss and sports an RPI of 27 and is ranked at 19th in the nation. If the Huskies can pull off the upset this Sunday against 12th ranked Utah, we can really gain some momentum.
As for forecasting the field, remember when the Dawgs were a 3 seed? CBS Sports Jerry Palm has them a No. 9 Seed playing LSU in Charlotte.
How about ESPN’s Joe Lunardi? The latest Bracketology which came out before the Colorado game has the Dawgs as one of the "Next Four Out." Lunardi has them as the 6th out in his brackets. Notably, Seattle University is in a play-in game for the 16th seed to see who plays Kentucky according to Lunardi’s current breakdown.
SB Nation’s Chris Dobbertean has the Dawgs the second team out in his latest version of Bracketology. His post, written before last night’s game, lists this Sunday’s Utah game as one that could catapult the Dawgs back into the bid picture.
Based on these prognostications, two things are clear. The Dawgs 11-0 start actually helped them remain a "bubble team" due to its poor start in conference play. Second, they will need to step it up from here on out if they are to solidify themselves a spot in the tournament in March. It looks like the Pac 12 will be down this season with Arizona and Utah as the clear class of the league. The committee wouldn't lose sleep if it just took 3 teams from the conference.