Yes, the USC Trojans lost to Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament, but the bubble is a constantly moving, always-evolving organism. Sometimes the bubble moves up, with teams winning games and playing their way into the field. Other times, the bubble moves down, with teams playing their way out of the field. North Carolina and a lot of other bubble teams are playing their way out. This is why USC is still in good shape.
North Carolina lost to Virginia in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.
“North Carolina’s NCAA Tournament hopes came to a screeching end Thursday night, losing 68-59 to Virginia in a game that they needed to have while on the bubble,” Richard Adkins wrote.
“The night started sweet for UNC as they witnessed other bubble teams lose but it ended up sour when they faced a similar defeat. It was a game in which really struggled on both ends, failing to get the offense going and not being able to stop Virginia. And if it wasn’t for R.J. Davis, it could have been even worse.”
North Carolina is 100-percent certain to miss the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels’ bubble has popped. There is no way they will make the field. Several teams played their way into this position of certain doom, several notches below USC.
A few bubble teams can still rise in the next 48 hours, but that collection of teams is dwindling, such that USC will find it very hard to be pushed out of the NCAA Tournament. The real drama at this point is if the Trojans will have to go to Dayton for the First Four.
Consult our bubble guide for more details.
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