Blue roundup: Bracketologist weighs in on Cougars

Deseret News

With just a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, BYU is looking for a strong finish.

ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi has released his latest edition of Bracketology, and he has the Cougars slotted as a No. 11 seed, facing No. 6 seed Creighton in Albuquerque. Fellow West Coast Conference members Saint Mary's and Gonzaga are each No. 5 seeds.

BYU track star Miles Batty set the NCAA indoor mile record at the 2012 Millrose Games over the weekend. Watch Batty's record-breaking run.

Turning to football, BYU opens spring drills on March 5. Yahoo.com previews spring practice for college football's independents, including the Cougars.

"Defense led the way for the Cougars in 2011, and that side of the ball should be solid again," writes Mike Huguenin. "Two starters departed in the secondary — one at corner, one at safety — so that area bears watching in the spring. BYU looks to be in better shape at corner than at safety. The offense is more problematic. BYU has to rebuild the left side of its line, find a new starter at fullback and at tailback and replace a starting wide receiver. The Cougars are looking for new starters at left tackle, left guard and center, and the drop-off to the new starters bears watching. BYU’s backup linemen were extremely young last season, and their progress this spring will go a long way toward determining how potent the Cougars are this fall. Junior TB Michael Alisa was productive in the second half of the season, and he will get ample opportunities this spring. Despite the loss of WR McKay Jacobson, BYU looks fine at that position."