NCAA Tournament Tracker: Losing Streak Crushes Cincinnati's At-Large Hopes

The Bearcats are posting arguably the most disappointing UC athletics season this century
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller coaches in the first half of a NCAA men’s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Texas Tech Red Raiders, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller coaches in the first half of a NCAA men’s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Texas Tech Red Raiders, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati / Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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CINCINNATI — It's Big 12 Tournament Champions or bust for Cincinnati amidst one of the worst stretches of Bearcats basketball this decade. UC's at large NCAA Tournament are in the toilet after starting 2-7 in the Big 12, stamped with their most recent three-game losing streak.

The March Madness drought will extend to six years unless Cincinnati can pull off a miracle at the end of the season. They are no longer a part of any of the 80 projections on the Bracket Matrix. Looking at Team Rankings, they hold a 2% chance at an at-large bid, to go with a 6.3% chance on Bart Torvik.

Cincinnati would have to go 9-2 at least down the stretch of the season to have any hope of sneaking in and even then it's not a lock. Seeing as they've never won three consecutive games in the Big 12, this coffin is basically nailed shut with a worse NET ranking now (51), than the team finished with in 2024 (37th).

Outside of recruiting, it's hard to see how this program has improved under Miller.

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Russ Heltman
RUSS HELTMAN

Russ Heltman is a contributor for AllBearcats and AllBengals. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.