We said after the victory over Arizona State that USC had moved squarely onto the middle of the bubble, right in that “last four in/first four out” position on the cut line for the NCAA Tournament.
Sure enough, ESPN’s latest bracketology, posted in the early part of the week before the Trojans’ next game against UCLA on Thursday, has USC as one of the first four teams out of the field.
What is notable is not USC’s position — since that’s not a surprise at all — but where other bubble teams are perceived to be, relative to USC.
Arizona State is a “last four in” team, which means the Sun Devils’ position is not that much better than USC’s. It’s better, but not by a large margin after the Trojans hammered ASU in Tempe. Also notable: Utah is not a first four out team or a next four out team. USC is well ahead of the Utes in the bubble pecking order.
Other notes from ESPN’s bracketology report: Four Big Ten teams are among the last eight teams in the field: Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, and Northwestern. Two of those teams, Ohio State and Penn State, have subsequently lost since this bracketology forecast came out.
Three Big 12 teams are among the first four out, alongside USC: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia. Two of those three teams have subsequently lost since this bracketology update was posted: Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Nevada — a “next four out” team after the first four out — won a big game against New Mexico on Monday night.
Look at the article to identify all the bubble teams USC fans should be rooting against over the next several weeks.
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