The pattern of USC getting help on the NCAA Tournament bubble continues.
Texas Tech was making a charge on the bubble. The Red Raiders struggled in the first three months of the season but caught fire the past few weeks to move into serious bubble consideration. With a win over TCU on Saturday, the Red Raiders might have moved into the “Last Four In” category on the bubble, joining USC and making life a lot more complicated for the Trojans.
Instead, TCU beat Texas Tech 83-82 on two free throws in the final five seconds. TCU had a 12-point second-half lead, lost it, but recovered at the end to escape Lubbock with a one-point win.
Texas Tech falls to 16-13 overall, 5-11 in the Big 12. There is no rule saying a team can’t be accepted into the NCAA Tournament if it is six games under .500 in its conference, so the Red Raiders aren’t dead. However, they next play at Kansas against a Jayhawk team which is in the hunt for a No. 1 seed. If the Red Raiders can win that game on the road, they still have a pretty good chance of getting in, believe it or not … but if they lose, they’re unlikely to get in.
So, Kansas could pretty much eliminate a bubble competitor for USC next week. That’s a scenario Trojan fans should feel confident about.
As an aside, Kansas plays bubble-hugging West Virginia later on Saturday. Get your Jayhawk pom-poms out, Trojan fans.
Here’s our full Saturday bubble guide.
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