NCAA Tournament March Madness

#249 Southern Utah

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Projection: need to automatically qualify

Southern Utah is essentially playing for the conference title because its résumé is defined more by heavy defeats on hostile floors at Gonzaga, Washington and Arizona State than by signature wins, and the neutral-site victory over Stetson plus tight wins at Abilene Christian and at home against Utah Valley do not offset those road setbacks. The Thunderbirds have swapped results with Cal Baptist, UT Arlington, Tarleton State and Abilene Christian in conference play and those inconsistent outcomes, combined with several lopsided losses away from home, leave little to recommend them for an at-large invite. With no marquee triumph against a top opponent and a body of work that looks brittle to a committee that prizes road and neutral success, the surest route into the field is to secure the WAC’s automatic berth, while the looming trip to Cal Baptist is the final regular-season opportunity to strengthen a fragile profile.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/4@Arizona St59L81-64
11/8UTRGV125L95-72
11/15@NE Omaha254L90-85
11/17@Gonzaga11L122-50
11/19@Washington St138L98-74
11/28@Robert Morris141L61-54
11/29(N)Stetson303W70-68
12/6@Oregon St178L81-70
12/13@Washington51L105-69
12/18@Northern Arizona319L65-57
12/29@Utah Tech183L80-66
1/3UT Arlington160L86-77
1/8@Utah Valley85L89-72
1/10@Cal Baptist112L58-55
1/15Tarleton St212W106-105
1/17Abilene Chr238W74-52
1/21Utah Valley85W84-70
1/24@Utah Tech183L102-91
1/29@UT Arlington160L80-61
1/31@Abilene Chr238W79-76
2/7Tarleton St212L62-59
2/12Cal Baptist112L83-66
2/14@UT Arlington160W78-73
2/19@Tarleton St212L78-74
2/21@Abilene Chr238L87-83
2/28Utah Tech183W81-67
3/5Utah Valley85L92-88
3/7Cal Baptist11231%