There is plenty of action happening on the bracketology bubble watch despite it being a relatively slow night for college hoops.
Dave Ommen’s latest bracketology can be found here. The full NET rankings can be found here.
Here is everything you need to know.
BUBBLE WATCH WINNERS
CINCINNATI (NET: 47, NBC: Off the bubble): I think that it’s pretty safe to say that the biggest game of Cincinnati’s season came on Thursday night, and the Bearcats delivered. Jarron Cumberland finally looks like Jarron Cumberland again, as he scored a game-winning three-point play in the final seconds to land a win at Wichita State (38). It’s the first Quad 1 win for the Bearcats, who are suddenly in first place in the American thanks to action elsewhere in the conference. There are two major problems with Cincinnati’s resume right now: They don’t have an elite win and there aren’t any elite wins available for them. With three Quad 3 losses to their name, there is a lot of ground for them to makeup. They need to keep on winning, but the Bearcats are now within striking distance of the NCAA tournament. That wasn’t true as recently as five days ago.
UTAH (NET: 87, NBC: Off the bubble): Cincinnati was the biggest winner of the night, but Utah was not far behind them as they picked up a Quad 1 win by picking off Stanford (21) at home. It’s the third Quad 1 win of the season for the Utes, who have beaten Kentucky (24) on a neutral and BYU (26) at home. Their issue? The three ugly losses: at UCLA (111) and then Tulane (174) and Coastal Carolina (189) in South Carolina.
BYU (NET: 26, NBC: 10): The Cougars avoided disaster by winning at Portland by 31 points. They are 5-7 against Quad 1 and 2 opponents, and while four of those five wins are against Quad 2 opponents, that’s misleading. Saint Mary’s is three spot away from being a Quad 1 win. Virginia Tech (62) and Utah State (55) on neutral courts will be Quad 1 wins if they end up being top 50 by the end of the season. BYU is legit, and they should probably get in the tournament.
ARIZONA STATE (NET: 60, NBC: First four out): The Sun Devils landed the win over UCLA (111) at home, avoiding what would be the only Quad 3 loss to their name. This win puts them in a position to land another Quad 2 win against USC (49) on Saturday. Arizona State has a pair of Quad 1 wins and is sitting at 5-8 against the top two Quads, but their only top 50 win came against Arizona (9).
BUBBLE WATCH LOSERS
TULSA (NET: 61, NBC: 12): The Golden Hurricane took a particularly brutal loss at home against UConn (92) on Thursday night. It’s a Quad 3 loss for a team that already has a Quad 4 loss to their name and a pair of Quad 2 losses that are one two game losing streak from becoming Quad 3 losses. With on Quad 1 wins and only two chances at landing a Quad 1 win left -- Houston (33) and Wichita State (38) on the road) -- things are looking pretty bleak for Frank Haith’s club.
STANFORD (NET: 21, NBC: Play-in game): The Cardinal are already in a weird spot because of a resume that lacks top end wins, and then they went out and lost at Utah (87) in overtime. Stanford has now lost four of their last five games, and three of those four losses came to league goes that are outside the top 75. And now they have to go to Boulder to face off with Colorado (18). Jerod Haase is digging himself a hole he might not be able to get out of.