Welcome to Selection Sunday, everyone! For those of you simply trying to enjoy your typical March 13th, the exit is that-a-way.
But for the rest of us red blooded college basketball fans, it’s the day we’ve all been waiting for since.. well.. around this time last year. And this is especially so for Cincinnati Bearcats fans, whose team is on the verge of their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
As we mentioned following UC’s loss to UConn on Friday afternoon, it actually helped them when it comes to strength of schedule and polishing up their NCAA Tournament resume. Since beating the Bearcats and tacking on another one to the Owls yesterday, the Huskies are now ranked 37th in RPI and 28th in BPI. That means that Cincinnati’s two wins over UConn in the regular season are now top 50 wins, doubling their total from just a week ago.
So now the Bearcats sit at 44th in RPI and 27th in BPI, the first 11 seed or the third six seed in the NCAA Tournament respectively if we’re taking them literally. And, if we’re being honest, Cincinnati will be closer to an 11 than a six.
Regardless, that’s all the evidence you need to know that UC is comfortably in the NCAA Tournament. They won’t be a very high seed there and will probably be underdogs in their first game, but they’re in, which is all that matters.
The bracketologists tend to agree. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Bearcats an 11 seed against #6 Baylor in the first round with a potential rematch with the #3 Kentucky Wildcats. That would of course be a nightmarish scenario for Cincinnati but, again, he has them in the Big Dance. So too does CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, who has UC a 10 seed against Texas with an old Big East match up with #2 Villanova in the third round.
More from Bearcats Basketball
- Cincinnati Basketball: Hayden Koval signs contract with Japanese club Shinagawa City
- Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats target 2024 4-star guard Jase Richardson set to visit in September
- Cincinnati Basketball: On3 releases scouting report for 2024 4-star prospect Labaron Philon
- Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats among finalists for 2024 4-star point guard Labaron Philon
- Cincinnati Basketball: 2025 5-star guard Jalen Haralson continues to consider the Bearcats
If we’re playing devil’s advocate, Cincinnati could potentially slide down, but not out, as a result of several conference tournaments. Fresno State (RPI #69) just beat San Diego State for the Mountain West Championship. Memphis (RPI #136) is steam rolling through the AAC Tournament and could earn an automatic bid should they beat UConn in the finals today. Neither Fresno State nor Memphis had much of a prayer at the NCAA Tournament prior to their conference tournaments while San Diego State and UConn were near locks. So that’s two extra spots that Selection Committee needs to fill that could potentially affect Cincinnati.
But given the Bearcats’ resume, it’s unlikely that will push them out of the Big Dance.
Look, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that UC isn’t on the lower tier of teams heading into the NCAA Tournament. But at this point in time that doesn’t really matter. Just the fact that the Bearcats will have their name called later today does and all of the evidence in front of us proves that they’re a lock.