Busting Brackets
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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Where do fringe tournament teams stand?

By Lukas Harkins

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the OklahomaSooners and the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 15: A general view of the court with March Madness signage is seen prior to the start of the game between the OklahomaSooners and the Rhode Island Rams in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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VILLANOVA, PA – DECEMBER 05: Temple Owls walk to the bench. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
VILLANOVA, PA – DECEMBER 05: Temple Owls walk to the bench. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

American Athletic Conference

Lead-pipe lock: Houston (3)

Firmly in the field: Cincinnati (7)

Some perspiration: None.

Double the deodorant: UCF (11), Temple (F4O)

Cincinnati Bearcats (18-3, 7-1 AAC)

NET: 23 | KPI: 2 | SOR: 28 | BPI: 23 | KP: 24 | Sag: 21

Q1: 2-1 | Q2: 2-1 | Q3: 8-0 | Q4: 6-1

On the whole, Cincinnati made a jump up during this past week. The Bearcats only competed in one game but it was arguably their second-best win of the entire season (at Temple). Head coach Mick Cronin’s team does not boast an elite resume of high-quality wins, which is why they are not a lock, but they belong heavily in the at-large discussion and I do not think they will fall out of the field. Winning matters above all else and they do that tremendously well and consistently.

UCF Knights (16-4, 6-2 AAC)

NET: 42 | KPI: 39 | SOR: 54 | BPI: 47 | KP: 50 | Sag: 40

Q1: 0-1 | Q2: 3-2 | Q3: 7-0 | Q4: 6-1

UCF suffered a tough loss during this past week by dropping a road game to Memphis. And while they did respond well with a home win over a disappointing UConn team in their next battle, the week was a net-negative for the Knights. Having said this, though, they are still featured in the majority of bracketology projected fields. In order to dance, UCF cannot afford any more bad losses and should look to snag at least one win (in four tries) over the top two teams in the league (Cincinnati and Houston). They also have a huge road matchup against Temple to conclude the regular season.

Temple Owls (15-6, 5-3 AAC)

NET: 58 | KPI: 36 | SOR: 46 | BPI: 66 | KP: 74 | Sag: 69

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

Temple missed some big opportunities during this past week. With just about everyone on the bubble dropping games, the Owls had two chances (vs. Cincinnati, at Houston) to put themselves firmly in the NCAA Tournament field. Yet, they were unable to accomplish either task, leaving them right on the fence. Temple’s biggest issue from a resume perspective is their lack of high-quality wins (and low performance ratings) and they now only have one opportunity left against a KenPom top-50 team and that will be against UCF at home in the regular-season finale. They cannot afford any more bad losses and their remaining schedule is full of bubble-bursters.

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