Utah 'First Four Out' In Lunardi's Latest March Madness Seeding

Will the Runnin' Utes make the NCAA Tournament, or will they not, that's the big question with a little under one month remaining until the beginning of the Big Dance

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, one of the nation's leading college basketball analysts, has the Runnin’ Utes as one of the “First Four Out” within his latest bracketology.

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— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 23, 2024

Lunardi’s most recent NCAA Tournament seed list ranked Utah at No. 70 just outside the boundary needed to make this year’s March tournament.

As noted in one of the ESPN bracketologist’s posts on X titled “Bracket Math”, 62 of the tournament's 68 spots are currently accounted for, leaving six spots up for grabs among 26 eligible “bubble” teams.

Utah is one of these bubble teams, but after a recent stretch of lackluster showings, the Runnin’ Utes have swiftly fallen in both the Pac-12 conference standings and the NCAA’s NET ranking.

On3.com even went on to call Utah a “stock down” bubble team, whose stretch of losing five of their last seven games significantly hinders their chance at making the NCAA’s March Madness tournament.

As bad as things may look, Utah does still have a chance at making the NCAA tournament.

First things first, the Runnin’ Utes need to come out victorious in their ‘must-win’ game against the Colorado Buffaloes. After that, the Utes will need to finish their regular season strong and carry over any momentum they may have into a strong showing at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

On top of what they can control, the Runnin’ Utes will also need some help. To make the NCAA Tournament, Utah needs several teams ranked ahead of them to falter. Specifically, teams like Wake Forest, Texas A&M, Gonzaga, Providence, and Seton Hall, all teams that bracketologists like Lunardi have currently ahead of the Runnin’ Utes.

While it may be an uphill battle to make the NCAA Tournament in March, Utah does also have an opportunity to get a bid into the slightly less desirable NCAA National Invitational Tournament in April.

Lunardi’s bracketology has Utah and Colorado as the Pac-12’s two entries into the postseason tournament. As an SBNation article on the NIT tournament aptly frames it, "The NIT is the battle to be the 69th-best college basketball team in all of the United States.”

Despite this lifeline, there would be something extra sweet about the Runnin’ Utes crawling into their first Big Dance since 2016. While it will be an uphill battle, Utah has the next month to prove its worthiness to the NCAA committee.