Selection Sunday is just under two weeks away, meaning that wins and losses are more important than ever, especially if you find yourself on the bubble. This past week, many teams on the Bracketology bubble took at least one loss, with some suffering some very big setbacks, which could be the reason between making the NCAA Tournament and missing it altogether.
Here’s a look at the five biggest losers from the past week.
Auburn Tigers
At one point, the Tigers were safely in the field. However, they’ve seven of the last eight games, including losses to Oklahoma and Ole Miss, two teams at the bottom of the SEC. The great non-con strength of schedule is the only thing keeping Auburn alive, as they’re 15-14 overall and 6-10 in a weaker SEC compared to the past. They’ll have to win on the road at Alabama this postseason to have a shot at the dance, since 16 total losses likely won’t get them in.
Cal Bears
Cal had a chance to be viewed as a winner, getting a nice 73-69 home win over SMU earlier in the week. Unfortunately for them, the Bears followed that up with a disastrous 72-56 home loss to Pittsburgh, a Quad 3 setback which hurts their already rough metrics. Considering that they were right around the cut-line in most projections, this is a rough outcome for them at the worst possible time.
Indiana Hoosiers
After back-to-back wins over Purdue and UCLA a few weeks ago, the Hoosiers looked to be safely in the tournament field. However, they’ve since lost five games, including four in a row. The recent home setbacks to Michigan State and more importantly, Northwestern, is a problem for a team that’s just 4-12 combined in the top-two quadrants. They now have to beat Minnesota at home next, with the weekend matchup at Ohio State being a potential do-or-die game for both sides.
USC Trojans
Losing at UCLA and against Nebraska isn’t the worst thing in the world for USC. The bigger problem is that they’ve now lost five straight games and are 7-11 in Big Ten play and metrics which are clearly worse than Indiana’s. Making matters worse is that leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara has parted ways with the program, hurting USC’s depth even more. They now have to beat Washington on the road to have any chance of making the NCAA Tournament, followed by a home game against rival UCLA.