2026 March Madness Thread

[zykarious]

I read somewhere that the committee is too lazy to take into consideration the conference tournaments. UC will have to beat Arizona but I also believe that they will need to at least make the finals in the tournament. I suspect that nothing short of winning it will be good enough. The loss yesterday took a huge beating on the teams hope of being selected in one week.

Chad Brendel likes to claim that, but I've also heard it's not really shown to be true. It's more that bubble teams tend to lose, which doesn't move the needle much.

The question for us, is how far do we need to move the needle? If the committee gives credence to the argument that we are a different team with Jizzle (and with Celestine healthy), we may not need to move it much if at all. In which case, beat Utah and UCF may be enough, losing to Arizona shouldn't hurt us. Compare to other bubbles teams who may take worse losses and not pick up much in the way of wins and I still think there's a reasonable chance we'll sneak in. Need other bubble teams to lose early in their tournaments and few bid thieves.

[longtimefan]

Of course, first we have to beat Utah, and I have a creepy bad feeling about that game.

[kskenyon4]

The ‘Cats only path to an NCAA appearance is to win the BigXII tournament. They do not have a hope for an at large bid. Win or bust.

I find that very hard to believe if they go 4-1. Even 3-1 should be an interesting sunday. 4 wins and they aren't even playing in Dayton...

[longtimefan]

I find that very hard to believe if they go 4-1. Even 3-1 should be an interesting sunday. 4 wins and they aren't even playing in Dayton...

3-1 means they beat Arizona, in that case they’re in. Maybe even 2-1 gets them in based on what other people. They’re only 3-11 in Q1 games, but their best wins are better than nearly all the other bubble teams.

[swilsonsp4]

It appears that the WCC will have three teams in The Dance. Santa Clara most likely sewed up a bid by knocking off St. Mary's in the semifinals last night, 76-71. St. Mary's and Gonzaga are clearly in. The Broncos and Zags will play for the WCC title tonight at 9:00 EDT on ESPN.

[London 'Cat]

It appears that the WCC will have three teams in The Dance. Santa Clara most likely sewed up a bid by knocking off St. Mary's in the semifinals last night, 76-71. St. Mary's and Gonzaga are clearly in. The Broncos and Zags will play for the WCC title tonight at 9:00 EDT on ESPN.

Not good for the 'Cats, not that they have a realistic shot at an at-large bid anyway.

[GoBearcats31]

Three ACC bubble teams in action today:
- Stanford plays Pitt at 2 p.m.
- SMU plays Syracuse at 4:30 p.m.
- Virginia Tech plays Wake Forest at 7 p.m.

Stanford has kind of come out of nowhere (winning the last four games helps)

SMU and Virginia Tech are both 8-10 in the ACC, which is overrated in my opinion

Seems that a loss by any of the above today could knock themselves out -- for some reason SMU seems in according to most

[GoBearcats31]

Three ACC bubble teams in action today:
- Stanford plays Pitt at 2 p.m.
- SMU plays Syracuse at 4:30 p.m.
- Virginia Tech plays Wake Forest at 7 p.m.

Stanford has kind of come out of nowhere (winning the last four games helps)

SMU and Virginia Tech are both 8-10 in the ACC, which is overrated in my opinion

Seems that a loss by any of the above today could knock themselves out -- for some reason SMU seems in according to most

Stanford falls on a last second tip-in at the hands of Pitt, whose coach Jeff Capel is on his way out. Stanford is likely done.

[bearcatbret]

Pitt is down by 1 with 13 minutes left against Stanford. We need Pitt to win.

[GoBearcats31]

“Source: The WAC has been informed that Utah Valley University has provided the $1 million in escrow which, per judge’s orders, was necessary for them to play in the WAC men’s and women’s conference tournaments.”

[GoBearcats31]

Pitt is down by 1 with 13 minutes left against Stanford. We need Pitt to win.

The game ended 30 mins before this post …

[GoBearcats31]

Pitt is down by 1 with 13 minutes left against Stanford. We need Pitt to win.

The game ended 30 mins before this post …

[GoBearcats31]

Virginia Tech joins Stanford with a brutal first round ACC loss. UC can make some moves with a win over UCF though more work to be done.

Also Northwestern downs Penn State, likely ending the college career of Josh Reed.

[Carthage World]

Bubble teams in action today (3/11)
Pittsburgh vs NC State (NET #35) - 12 pm
SMU (NET #37) vs Louisville - 2:30 pm
Mississippi St vs Auburn (NET #39) - 3:00 pm
Northwestern vs Indiana (NET #38) - 6:30 pm
Ole Miss vs Texas (NET #42) - 7:00 pm

[GoBearcats31]

Bubble teams in action today (3/11)
Pittsburgh vs NC State (NET #35) - 12 pm
SMU (NET #37) vs Louisville - 2:30 pm
Mississippi St vs Auburn (NET #39) - 3:00 pm
Northwestern vs Indiana (NET #38) - 6:30 pm
Ole Miss vs Texas (NET #42) - 7:00 pm

• NC State is likely in but not a sure thing if they lose -- favored by 9.5 points
• SMU is likely comfortable with a win, but uncomfortable without -- 6.5 point underdogs
• Auburn still alive with a win, but probably done with a loss that would move them to 16-16 -- 7.5 point favorites
• IU is either barely in or barely out coming into today's game -- 4.5 point favorites but recently lost at home to Northwestern
• Don't have a good sense on Texas, but probably similar to NC State -- 6.5 point favorites
• UC is favored by 2.5 against UCF -- the Knights could potentially solidify an at-large bid with a win but will be sweating with an L to the Bearcats
• UC probably needs more than just wins over Utah yesterday and UCF today but they are very much in the conversation with a W today

For what it is worth, Lunardi has:

LAST FOUR BYES - NC State, Texas, Santa Clara (lost in WCC finals yesterday), Missouri
LAST FOUR IN - UCF, VCU, SMU, Indiana
FIRST FOUR OUT - Auburn, Stanford (lost in ACC opener yesterday), New Mexico, Cincinnati
NEXT FOUR OUT - San Diego State, Virginia Tech (lost in ACC opener yesterday, Oklahoma, Cal

(Cal plays FSU at 7 p.m., Oklahoma plays South Carolina at 9:30 p.m.)