Bracketology 2020: Buy or sell Providence, Cincinnati, VT, South Carolina, and NC State
By Bryan Mauro
Cincinnati Bearcats – Sell
In the previous article, I highlighted another American Conference team who is trending in the wrong direction and is currently on the wrong side of the bubble in the Memphis Tigers. The Bearcats are destined for the same fate and outside of a run in the American Conference tournament, the Bearcats look to be out of the NCAA tournament picture. Cincinnati is an interesting team that is currently playing its best basketball winning 7 of their last 9 games. They have not beaten anyone of note and they have some losses, especially at home that are not good for their resume.
Cincinnati is an annual participant in the NCAA tournament under former head coach Mick Cronin. The Bearcats had to experience a bit of an adjustment period under new coach John Brannen. Brannen has his team playing a faster style and scoring more points than was customary under Cronin.
The Bearcats currently have a 2-5 record in quad 1 and a NET of 50 heading into Wednesday’s games. That puts them in position to receive a bid come selection Sunday. The one thing Cincinnati is going to have to avoid is a quad 3 or 4 loss. They already have four quad 3 losses and those losses are going to reflect negatively against them when resumes are evaluated.
The remaining schedule still has some opportunities on it. They have Wichita State and Houston still on the schedule one at home and one on the road. The Bearcats need to hope that no one steals a bid and no one other than Houston or themselves win the conference tournament. Winning the auto-bid may be the only hope the Bearcats have at this point.
As mentioned they do still have the remaining games with Houston and Wichita State. They own wins over both of those teams and a sweep would go a long way towards helping the Bearcats. The overall one seed in the conference tournament will give them two wins against Houston and go a long way towards keeping them on the bubble. As of right now, Cincinnati has too many unfavorable losses to warrant an at large bid.