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

Texas (19-11) (NET: 27)
5-8 (Q1), 2-2 (Q2), 4-1 (Q3), 8-0 (Q4)

Life in the Big 12 isn’t easy for anyone and that’s certainly the case for the Longhorns. They got back on track this past week with double-digit wins at Texas Tech and against Oklahoma State, but fell late Monday night against a strong Baylor team.

That win in College Station was the latest of their five Quad 1 wins, all of which have come in conference play. They played well and won over Baylor in their first matchup in January and were victorious on the road against Cincinnati, Oklahoma, and TCU in earlier showdowns.

A bad stretch in mid-January still stings for the Longhorns, who gained a Quad 3 loss at West Virginia four days before a lame showing at home, falling to UCF for one of those Quad 2 defeats. The other Quad 2 loss was to Texas Tech, though that defeat was recently avenged.

The NET figure looks good and the wins are impressive, especially away from home. The Longhorns end the season at home against Oklahoma this upcoming weekend and we’re not quite sure if they’re actually in any danger for missing the field. Just win on Saturday and show up at the Big 12 Tournament.

Utah (18-11) (NET: 46)
4-7 (Q1), 4-3 (Q2), 5-1 (Q3), 5-0 (Q4)

Still reeling from a recent rough loss at Colorado, the Utes got back on track this past week. There wasn’t much drama in home wins over Stanford and California, with Utah winning both games by at least 20 points.

There wasn’t anything inspiring about those wins, but Utah does boast four Quad 1 wins, with much of that success coming before conference play. The Utes beat Wake Forest in Charleston, won at Saint Mary’s and took down BYU all in the first five weeks of the season, adding another nice win over Colorado in league play.

Getting swept by Arizona State has done terrible things to Utah’s resume. The home loss in February was their Quad 3 defeat, while they’ve added a few other Quad 2 losses in Pac-12 play, notably falling at Stanford and USC as well.

Utah looked like a certainty for March Madness but have won just four of their last ten games including last week’s success. They’ll hope for a great ending to the season as they’ll have another Quad 1 opportunity at Oregon this upcoming Saturday, with both teams in that game really needing a win.