Bracketology 2024: Bubble Watch Updates of key teams in early March

Oregon (19-10) (NET: 64)
2-5 (Q1), 3-4 (Q2), 8-1 (Q3), 6-0 (Q4)

Needing to make an impression, Oregon lost to a very good Arizona squad by 20 points this past weekend. It wasn’t the performance the Ducks wanted or needed for a team that seems to bounce between wins and losses during Pac-12 play.

Oregon scored those two Quad 1 wins at Washington and Washington State but that road trip was two months ago in early January. Their best nonconference win was Georgia (Quad 3) on opening night and they haven’t exactly had a ton of Quad 1 or 2 chances in this league.

Santa Clara got the better of them back in November, though at least that’s the only Quad 3 loss on the resume. What hurts are the Quad 2 losses they’ve added in recent weeks, losing to UCLA and California on the road and faltering against Washington State.

The Ducks were favored in each of those three losses we just mentioned and they need to add a few more wins to improve that NET. They’ll host Colorado (a Quad 1 game) and Utah to finish the regular season and a pair of wins over bubble teams would go a long way for this resume.

Pittsburgh (19-10) (NET: 44)
2-6 (Q1), 5-2 (Q2), 5-2 (Q3), 7-0 (Q4)

Great work across the last month has gotten Pittsburgh back into position, though last week’s loss at Clemson was a missed opportunity. The Panthers bounced back with a 25-point win at Boston College over the weekend, their sixth ACC road win on the year.

Their two Quad 1 wins are among that number as the Panthers got a shocking win at Duke in late January before winning at Virginia in the middle of February. Quad 2 wins have come as well, as the Panthers have recent victories over Wake Forest, NC State, and Virginia Tech.

Those two Quad 3 losses really hurt for a team firmly on the bubble. A late November home loss to Missouri has aged terribly and the same can be said about a sweep at the hands of Syracuse, with a mid-January home loss sitting at Quad 3 for the Panthers.

Great wins and bad losses typically balance out and this leaves us with a Pittsburgh squad needed to stabilize their position. All that remains in the regular season is home games with Florida State and NC State meaning the Panthers may need a good showing in the ACC Tournament regardless.