The USC Trojans had a great week independent of what other teams did around the country in men’s college basketball. Beating Arizona State and then UCLA in a six-day period sent the Men of Troy rocketing up the seed list and well inside the cut line for the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans are several spots inside the cut line. They have bought themselves a small degree of leverage.
That amount of leverage then expanded over the weekend.
Bubble teams fighting USC for an NCAA Tournament bid had mixed results, but mostly bad (for them).
Yes, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Maryland, West Virginia, and Penn State all had really good wins, but even more bubble teams stumbled.
Kentucky couldn’t get a win over Kansas which would have fairly safely positioned the Wildcats in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Kentucky remains firmly on the bubble. Ohio State is in freefall after losing to Indiana. The Buckeyes are clearly out of the NCAA field right now and need several wins to put themselves back in the field.
We documented Utah and Arizona State both losing ground in the Pac-12.
Other bubble teams suffered brutal losses: Florida, Wake Forest, Nevada, and Wisconsin all faltered.
USC moved up, but other teams actively moved down. The Trojans hope to have a few more weekends such as this past one.
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