Poppin' Bubbles

This time of year, we hear plenty from talking heads about which teams should be "in" or "out" of the field for March Madness, with ESPN running a daily ticker update on Joe Lunardi's "Bracketology" - specifically the last 4 in and last 4 out of the field, in his opinion. But at the end of the day, if a team really wants to be in the field, they just need to play their way in by proving it on the court. Last night was a big night for some of these "bubble" teams to do just that:

Colorado State: sitting at 17-11, the Rams are a classic bubble team, one that Lunardi's opinion of changes with the winds - one day they're in, the next day they're out, whether they've played or not. Last night, however, they hosted UNLV. Down 15 at the half, seeing their tournament at-large chances slipping away, they came out and hammered the Runnin' Rebels in the second half, 40-18, to add a big win to their resume.

South Florida: it's hard to believe this team is in this position -- and I don't mean that in a good way -- because I saw them in person in November and thought they would certainly be one of the worst BCS teams in the country. At 18-11, needing a nice win to bolster their case for the Selection Committee, South Florida went to the Yum Center last night and defeated Louisville. I didn't watch the game, but the halftime score (22-17, USF) makes me think Wisconsin got involved somehow.

Cincinnati: you likely haven't heard much about the Bearcats this season outside of their nasty brawl on the court with arch-rival Xavier (a team that has fallen in the toilet since that ugly moment) ... while remaining an afterthought, they've been putting together a quiet 20-win season. Another classic bubble team, in my opinion, Cincy had a big opportunity last night as they hosted #8 Marquette. In a situation like that, a loss doesn't kill your at-large chances, but a win can do wonders. And that's what Cincy did, beating Marquette, 72-61.

Other games of note ... NC State knocked off Miami in a bracket-buster type of match-up; Northwestern (will this be *the* year?) fell just short at home, losing to Ohio State by 2 points in the closing seconds; Mississippi State needed overtime to beat a bad South Carolina team (and I don't care that it took place in SC's gym); and Texas avoided a bad loss by taking care of Oklahoma in Austin.