Bracketology Bubble Watch: Where do teams stand relative to the field?

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - NOVEMBER 21: Luguentz Dort #0 of the Arizona State Sun Devils is double teamed by Quinn Taylor #10 and Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies during the second half of the championship game of the MGM Resorts Main Event basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on November 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arizona State won 87-82. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

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HARTFORD, CT – MARCH 11: Taylor #1 of the UCF Knights takes a shot. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

American Athletic Conference

Firmly in the field: Houston

Some perspiration: Cincinnati

Double the deodorant: UCF, Temple

Houston Cougars (19-1, 6-1 AAC)

NET: 7 | KPI: 9 | SOR: 12 | BPI: 21 | KP: 20 | Sag: 21

Q1: 2-1 | Q2: 7-0 | Q3: 3-0 | Q4: 7-0

Clearly one of the top teams in the country so far this year, Houston only has one blemish on their current resume, a road loss to Temple. And while the Cougars might not hold that many “elite” wins, their record speaks for itself. Head coach Kevin Sampson has done a great job with this roster and they look poised to land a high seed in the Big Dance. It is very possible that Houston enters the postseason with less than five losses.

Cincinnati Bearcats (17-3, 6-1 AAC)

NET: 33 | KPI: 31 | SOR: 31 | BPI: 24 | KP: 27 | Sag: 25

Q1: 1-1 | Q2: 2-1 | Q3: 8-1 | Q4: 6-0

Cincinnati has quietly been one of the better teams in the country. And while the team is not going to reach the same seeding level as a year ago, it seems reasonable to think that they will go dancing once again. At 17-3, the Bearcats boast one of the better records in the nation but really lack quality wins. They own just one win over a KenPom top-75 team in the country (Ole Miss) and have also suffered a loss to a team rated outside of the top-200. With a rather difficult AAC schedule remaining, it is possible that Cincinnati starts to crumble. They could also start to gain some traction with regards to moving up seed lines, though.

UCF Knights (15-3, 5-1 AAC)

NET: 35 | KPI: 36 | SOR: 45 | BPI: 42 | KP: 46 | Sag: 36

Q1: 0-0 | Q2: 3-2 | Q3: 6-0 | Q4: 6-1

UCF is off to an incredibly strong start in AAC play but the worrying factor is that their SOS in conference so far is quite weak. They have only played two KenPom top-100 teams in league play so far this year and already suffered a loss to Wichita State. With three straight huge games coming up against Memphis, UConn, and Houston, we are about to find out just how competitive this team will be for a bid. The Knights already have the number of wins needed to go dancing but now they need some quality.

Temple Owls (15-4, 5-1 AAC)

NET: 62 | KPI: 37 | SOR: 41 | BPI: 64 | KP: 73 | Sag: 70

Q1: 1-2 | Q2: 4-1 | Q3: 4-1 | Q4: 6-0

Temple, despite a strong record, has some work to do to reach the Big Dance. They have not played a tremendously difficult schedule, hold only one win over the KenPom top-75, and are not rating extremely well by predictive metrics either. With that said, though, they seem like one of the better teams in the AAC and therefore should continue to win their fair share of games. Temple has a couple of huge opportunities to move up the bubble standings with back-to-back games against Cincinnati (home) and Houston (away) up next on the schedule.

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