NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest takeaways from Saturday’s historic action-packed slate

Washington State, Saint Mary’s and Cincinnati among bubble winners

Kyle Smith continues to work wonders in Pullman as his Cougars won a 90-87 OT battle at Washington on Saturday.

Standing at 16-6 (7-4) on the year, the Cougars picked up their fourth Q1 win on the year and are ever-so-closely inching towards their first NCAA Tournament birth since the Tony Bennett days.

Saint Mary’s is another bubble winner, rattling off their 10th-straight win thanks to a 64-62 win at Gonzaga. After a 3-5 start on the year, the Gaels have found their groove while picking up their fourth Q1 win on the year.

Another bubble winner last night was Wes Miller’s Cincinnati Bearcats, knotting a 75-72 victory in the not-so-friendly confines of United Supermarkets Arena over Texas Tech. 

Because the Bearcats had a relatively weaker non-conference strength of schedule, scoring a Big 12 road win is monumental for their NCAA Tournament aspirations.

Winning on the road is an extremely difficult thing to do. Washington State, Saint Mary’s and Cincinnati defied the odds and now all have a road Q1 win to add to their resumes.