NCAA Tournament March Madness

#72 Cincinnati

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Projection: likely out

Cincinnati’s profile is driven by a stingy defense that keeps games close but an offense that has not produced enough signature moments, and that combination helps explain where they sit now. They have credible wins, including the victory over Dayton and several dominant results against lesser opponents, yet damaging neutral-site setbacks to Louisville, Georgia and Clemson, a home loss to Eastern Michigan and a road defeat at Xavier have deprived them of the marquee résumé wins the committee values. The remainder of the schedule presents a clear path to repair or further damage: trips to Arizona, to Houston and a visit to Kansas plus games against Iowa State, Baylor and BYU are true tests that could change perception, while games like Lipscomb, Colorado and Utah are opportunities to shore up the record but won’t erase bad losses. Ultimately, the defense gives a solid foundation, but the scarcity of road and neutral victories against quality opponents and the presence of ugly losses explain the cautious evaluation.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3W Carolina283W94-63
11/7Georgia St332W74-64
11/11Dayton65W74-62
11/16Mt St Mary's302W72-55
11/21(N)Louisville14L74-64
11/24NJIT353W94-67
11/26E Michigan208L64-56
12/1Tarleton St185W76-58
12/5@Xavier102L79-74
12/13(N)Georgia25L84-65
12/17Alabama St277W88-51
12/21(N)Clemson35L68-65
12/29Lipscomb13780%
1/3Houston1022%
1/6@West Virginia6737%
1/11@UCF4528%
1/14Colorado7060%
1/17Iowa St314%
1/21@Arizona24%
1/24@Arizona St7740%
1/28Baylor2938%
1/31@Houston109%
2/5West Virginia6759%
2/8UCF4549%
2/11@Kansas St5835%
2/15Utah12377%
2/21@Kansas1613%
2/24@Texas Tech2618%
2/28Oklahoma St6158%
3/3BYU1122%
3/7@TCU5635%