NCAA basketball: Bubble implications of the past weekend’s games

USC

The Trojans are right on the bubble, currently one of the “Last Four in” according to ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi. An impressive 16 point road win over Utah may have just propelled them into a very favorable position. Chimezie Metu and Jordan Usher led the scoring with 14 points each, making key contributions to the victory as they have all season.

USC closes their season out on Saturday against UCLA, and then they will play in their conference tournament.

Nothing is certain of course, but the outlook is much more positive now for the Trojans than it was before their game against Utah. The Utes were also on the bubble, and the matchup looked to be a key battle for who would get the upper hand to become the third tournament team from the Pac-12 conference. With USC winning in convincing fashion, they look to be on their way as long as they do not stumble at home this Saturday and as long as they make a respectable run in the Pac-12 tournament.

It also wouldn’t hurt for the Trojans to root hard against other bubble teams such as Baylor and Texas, just to ensure that no other team can steal their spot in the field of 68. But as it appears now, USC’s tournament stock is on the move in the right direction.