Bubble Teams That Need The Cincinnati Bearcats To Make A Deep AAC Tournament Run

Nov 12, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats guard Sean Kilpatrick (23) drives past North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Desmond Lee (5) during the second half of the game at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Leifheit-USA TODAY Sports

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The Cincinnati Bearcats are fortunate and talented enough to not be on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament, biting their fingernails on Selection Sunday to see if the are “in”. UC is about as far from a bubble team as they could get. With a 26-5 overall record, 15-3 AAC record, a #12/13 ranking, and the #1 seed in the conference tournament, Cincinnati is sitting pretty with a NCAA Tournament invitation in hand.

Other teams are not in the same boat, clinging to a life raft and hoping to avoid relegation to the NIT. There are several to speak of but just four that will be keeping a close eye on Cincinnati in the AAC Tournament. The Bearcats play their first game tonight at 7 pm against Central Florida and I’m sure the fans of the following schools will be keeping an eye on UC’s progress through the bracket.

North Carolina State Wolfpack

The Bearcats beat NC State back in mid-November before the Wolfpack could really get their feet under them. They went on to win 9 of their next 11 games but have been mediocre in ACC play. North Carolina State has just a 9-9 conference record. Even more so, the Wolfpack haven’t beaten anyone of substance (Pitt, Tennessee, Clemson, Eastern Kentucky, maybe?) and will have to rely on “good” losses to squeak into the tournament. Losses to Cincinnati, Missouri, Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina (twice) paint an encouraging picture on NC State’s record. Still, they’ll need to do some work in the ACC Tournament and hope teams like UC perform well over the next few days. I think the Wolfpack can be assured that if they don’t do this again, they’ll have a chance at making the NCAA Tourney:

Xavier Musketeers

The Muskies manhandled Cincinnati in the Crosstown Shootout, putting a huge win on their NCAA Tournament resume as a result. Xavier also beat the 9th ranked Creighton Bluejays, swept St. John’s, who are fighting for a spot, and split their games against fellow bubble teams Tennessee and Providence. But the Musketeers also lost to USC (11-20 record, last in the PAC-12), Georgetown (17-13, 8-10 in the Big East), and were swept themselves by Seton Hall (15-16, 6-12 in the Big East). They have a respectable 21-10 record but are just 10-8 in a watered down Big East and it’s those losses that are causing Xavier to sit on the bubble right now. The Musketeers need a combination of a nice run in the conference tournament and Cincinnati win a couple of games and even the AAC championship over the next three days. Having a win over a regular season and conference champion on their resume will help Xavier’s chances of avoiding the NIT.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

The ‘Huskers are the quintessential “peaking at the right time” bubble team. Cincinnati beat Nebraska in late December by a fairly sizable margin but they have been on a tear ever since. The Cornhuskers have a solid 11-7 Big Ten record but are just 19-11 overall. Nebraska’s slow start to their season is really hurting them right now, especially the losses to UAB and UMass. They then stumbled in Big Ten play losing to Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, and (chuckle) Purdue before beating the Buckeyes in their second matchup of conference play. From that point on, Nebraska was rolling, beating Michigan State and most recently Wisconsin to wrap up a stretch where they won 8 of the last 9 games. Even so, the Cornhuskers are still on the bubble and must continue their hot play in the Big Ten Tournament while keeping an eye on Cincinnati.

Pitt Panthers

In many ways the Panthers are in the same unfortunate situation as North Carolina State. Pitt was on a tear until they lost to Cincinnati in a rock fight in mid-December and were knocked from the ranks of the unbeatens. The Panthers quickly returned to their winning ways following the loss to UC but faltered in ACC play and, like the Wolfpack, don’t really have any quality wins to their name. You could maybe make the argument for Stanford, NC State, and Clemson (x2!) but Pitt hasn’t beaten anyone above them in the ACC standings and their non-conference schedule was unimpressive. As with everyone in this list, the Panthers must make a run in their conference tournament while simultaneously hoping Cincinnati does the same in theirs to make their schedule look stronger.