Wednesday was a rough day for bubble teams making their conference tournament debut. Several programs did the one thing they couldn’t afford to do this time of year and took damaging losses, putting their NCAA tournament hopes in jeopardy or ending them altogether.
Meanwhile, a few coaches received bad news of their own, as they were informed they had coached their final game for their current employer.
Here’s a look at Wednesday’s action.
Winners
Missouri
Missouri got some good news before even taking the court. While the Tigers prepared to open their SEC tournament run, Kentucky edged LSU, handing Missouri a valuable opportunity in Thursday’s matchup.
LSU had already beaten Missouri once this season, while Kentucky lost to the Tigers in Lexington. Avoiding a rematch with LSU, which would have been a Quad 2 game, and drawing Kentucky instead gives Missouri a much more valuable Quad 1 matchup against a team coming off a physically demanding game.
NC State
Pittsburgh made NC State work, but the Wolfpack ultimately pulled away to avoid a damaging Quad 3 loss. Now State gets another shot at Virginia, a game that won’t hurt its résumé if it ends in defeat.
The Wolfpack have already lost twice to the Cavaliers this season, but with other bubble teams faltering, they have likely done enough to secure a spot in the field.
UCF
Central Florida nearly completed a collapse that would have knocked it out of NCAA tournament contention. But the Knights survived Cincinnati in overtime, keeping their hopes alive.
They now face the unenviable task of taking on Arizona in the Big 12 quarterfinals. Still, the opportunity remains, and a win would almost certainly punch their ticket to the field.
Oklahoma
Sometimes the best way to climb onto the bubble is simply to let everyone else collapse around you. Oklahoma might find itself in that position as other contenders continue to stumble.
While the chaos unfolded around them, the Sooners quietly picked up their fifth straight win. At 18-14, Oklahoma’s NCAA tournament hopes aren’t finished quite yet.
Losers
California
Everyone knew this matchup would be trouble for the Golden Bears the moment the ACC bracket was released. Florida State continued its strong late-season run, defeating California and likely ending the Bears’ NCAA tournament hopes.
Indiana
The Hoosiers got a second shot at Northwestern, and it turned out even worse than the first meeting. Once again, the Wildcats took control in the second half, and this time they made it look easy. Northwestern won by 13, denying Indiana another shot at Purdue and saddling the Hoosiers with another Quad 2 loss.
While Indiana deserves credit for playing a tough schedule, the results have not followed. Outside of two overtime wins and a victory over Purdue in Bloomington, the Hoosiers struggled throughout that slate. Indiana finished just 3-11 against Quad 1 opponents, and many of those losses were not particularly competitive. If the committee leans heavily on the eye test, Indiana’s done.
Texas
Losing to Mississippi was never an option if Texas wanted to make the NCAA tournament, but the Longhorns did exactly that. Making matters worse, the game wasn’t particularly close. Texas trailed from start to finish and only once managed to cut the deficit to a single possession against the SEC’s 15th-place team.
The Longhorns are a difficult team to evaluate because of their wide range of results. They beat Alabama on the road and Vanderbilt at home, but also lost to Mississippi State and suffered this baffling defeat in Nashville. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess what the committee will do with Texas.
Bobby Hurley
Arizona State needed a miracle run in Kansas City to keep Bobby Hurley in Tempe. While the Sun Devils did win their opening game, the second round against Iowa State was not competitive.
ASU was so overmatched that the Cyclones could have held the ball and taken a shot clock violation on every possession in the second half and still won comfortably. Iowa State ultimately won by 49 points, seven more than Arizona State even scored.
Hurley was officially dismissed after the game. Syracuse coach Adrian Autry was also let go, becoming the third ACC coach removed from his position.
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