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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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AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 02: Matt Coleman III #2 of the Texas Longhorns drives around Michael Jacobson #12 of the Iowa State Cyclones at The Frank Erwin Center on March 02, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 02: Matt Coleman III #2 of the Texas Longhorns drives around Michael Jacobson #12 of the Iowa State Cyclones at The Frank Erwin Center on March 02, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

2. Texas

Playing in the Big 12 is a gauntlet, and that gauntlet can take a toll on even the most talented teams. The selection committee respects the Big 12’s brutal regular season schedule by inviting as many qualified teams as it can find every year, but having a losing conference record can make things tough.

That was the case for the Texas Longhorns, which entered Saturday’s game against Iowa State on a two-game losing streak and the owners of a 15-13 record. A 7-8 mark in the Big 12 is nothing to sneeze at, but a large collection of bad losses (Radford, Providence, Oklahoma State, and Georgia) were weighing down the Longhorns.

Texas took a huge step forward on Saturday by dominating a very talented Cyclones’ squad, winning 86-69 to get back to 8-8 in Big 12 play. This also allowed Texas to climb into the sixth spot in the Big 12 standings, a potentially huge turn of events for a team whose resume is reliant on the strength of the conference.

Texas plays at Texas Tech and hosts TCU this week, so a simple split of those games would allow the Longhorns to maintain their position as a top-six seed. That would allow the Longhorns to avoid playing a first round matchup in the conference tournament against either West Virginia or Oklahoma State, the two teams in the league that could sink their resume with a loss.

Texas has done a ton of great work already, picking up wins over Purdue, North Carolina, Kansas, and Kansas State. The win over Iowa State gives the Longhorns a fifth signature victory, something many teams on the bubble can’t duplicate.

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