Utes Looking Solid for Fifth Seed in Conference Tourney
Seems like an awfully intriguing game for the Utes tonight, between Air Force and TCU, and one that could go a long way toward determining what seed the Utes enjoy at the Mountain West Conference tournament next week.
Except that it probably won't.
The Utes can miss out on the fifth seed in the tournament in only a couple of very unlikely ways. One is if they lose their regular-season finale at UNLV on Saturday and the winner of tonight's game goes on to win its season-finale -- Air Force against San Diego State and TCU against Brigham Young -- and finish ahead in the standings.
Otherwise, the only thing that can foul up the fifth seed for the Utes is a TCU upset of the Cougars on Saturday.
If that somehow happens, the Utes would lose any tie-breaker with the Horned Frogs -- whether at 8-8 after a win at UNLV or 7-9 after a loss combined with a TCU loss to Air Force tonight -- because the Frogs will have split with the Cougars while the Utes were swept by them. That could drop the Utes to the seventh seed, in fact, if Air Force wins out to claim the fifth spot outright before TCU wins the tie with the Utes to claim the sixth.
However ...
Regardless of whether TCU upsets the Cougars, the Utes would win a three-way tie with TCU and Air Force -- it can occur only at 7-9 -- because of their combined 3-1 record against the other tied teams.
Got it?
In other words, regardless of what happens tonight, the Utes want both the Horned Frogs and Falcons to lose on Saturday, just to be on the safe side. Earning the fifth seed, by the way, would pit the Utes against San Diego State in the second game of the first round of the tournament, at 3:30 p.m. MT next Thursday.
Except that it probably won't.
The Utes can miss out on the fifth seed in the tournament in only a couple of very unlikely ways. One is if they lose their regular-season finale at UNLV on Saturday and the winner of tonight's game goes on to win its season-finale -- Air Force against San Diego State and TCU against Brigham Young -- and finish ahead in the standings.
Otherwise, the only thing that can foul up the fifth seed for the Utes is a TCU upset of the Cougars on Saturday.
If that somehow happens, the Utes would lose any tie-breaker with the Horned Frogs -- whether at 8-8 after a win at UNLV or 7-9 after a loss combined with a TCU loss to Air Force tonight -- because the Frogs will have split with the Cougars while the Utes were swept by them. That could drop the Utes to the seventh seed, in fact, if Air Force wins out to claim the fifth spot outright before TCU wins the tie with the Utes to claim the sixth.
However ...
Regardless of whether TCU upsets the Cougars, the Utes would win a three-way tie with TCU and Air Force -- it can occur only at 7-9 -- because of their combined 3-1 record against the other tied teams.
Got it?
In other words, regardless of what happens tonight, the Utes want both the Horned Frogs and Falcons to lose on Saturday, just to be on the safe side. Earning the fifth seed, by the way, would pit the Utes against San Diego State in the second game of the first round of the tournament, at 3:30 p.m. MT next Thursday.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 12:59 PM |
2 Comments:
I still want the Horned Frogs to win on Saturday.
Hoping for a 5th seed in the conference tournament. Stand back and take a look at the Utes great improvement since last year.
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