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Bracketology: Indiana and 5 bubble teams who helped their cause this weekend with big upsets

By Mike Phillips

BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 26: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers dunks the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers at Assembly Hall on February 26, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 26: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers dunks the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers at Assembly Hall on February 26, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – FEBRUARY 21: UCF Knights guard B.J. Taylor (1) shoots a free throw during the game against the Central Florida Knights and the Cincinnati Bearcats on February 21st 2019, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – FEBRUARY 21: UCF Knights guard B.J. Taylor (1) shoots a free throw during the game against the Central Florida Knights and the Cincinnati Bearcats on February 21st 2019, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. UCF

Even though UCF has been known as a football school, their basketball team has been quietly excellent all season long. The Knights have pretty much taken care of business, beating the teams they’re supposed to while keeping bad losses to a minimum, which left them with a serviceable resume lacking marquee victories.

That all changed on Saturday when the Knights went into Houston and beat the Cougars 69-64. Houston entered the contest ranked No. 8 in the nation and owners of a 33-game home winning streak, the longest in the country at that point.

The fact that the Knights were able to snap that streak is a huge boost to their resume, which had missed that emphatic, bullet point win the selection committee couldn’t ignore. A win at Houston, where no one else had won in a long time, is that victory.

The Knights have two more chances at big wins this week when they host Cincinnati on Thursday before a trip to fellow bubble team Temple to end the regular season. The good news is that neither of those games can really damage UCF’s resume, while wins would further separate them from the muck that is the 2019 bubble.

A split of these games would probably leave the Knights in a position where they simply have to avoid a bad loss in the AAC Tournament to earn an at-large bid. That may be easier said than done for a team that has already lost to middling squads from Memphis and Wichita State, but the Knights are definitely headed in the right direction after beating Houston on Saturday.

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