Big 12 March Madness Bracketology: BYU Erasing Bubble Watch Talk

There was a little bit of March Madness with three of the four Big 12 games on Tuesday being decided by three points or less.

Cincinnati, one of those bubble teams, is at home against Kansas State on Wednesday while Texas Tech welcomes Big 12 cellar-dwelling Colorado to town. Wins by the Bearcats and the Red Raiders won’t help their March Madness odds much but losses could be rather detrimental.

Houston (+750) trails only Auburn and Duke in the odds of winning March Madness. Iowa State (+2000) is seventh in the championship odds while Arizona and Texas Tech are both priced at +3500 to win the national title.

BetUS takes a look at where the Big 12 teams stand as the regular season is in the home stretch. Big 12 bubble teams may need to make some noise in the conference tournament to be part of the March Madness field.

Big 12 March Madness Breakdown

BYU Ready To Squash Bubble Team Talk

BYU has made quite the push with a seven-game winning streak after Tuesday’s double-overtime win over Iowa State when listed by the BetUS sportsbook as the 8.5-point underdog. All that remains is a Saturday night matchup with Utah.

COUGARS GET IT DONE IN 2OT‼️

No. 23 BYU goes on the road and takes down No. 10 Iowa State 😤 pic.twitter.com/Tuh1U78SBG

— ESPN (@espn) March 5, 2025

The Cougars are 27th in the NCAA NET rankings and 5-7 in Quad 1 games. The reality is that BYU looks like a team headed to the NCAA Tournament. We’ll keep them as the headliner in the list of Big 12 bubble teams. This is not a team you will want to see in the NCAA tournament.

Baylor opened March with a much-needed win over Oklahoma State to improve to 9-9 in conference play and found a way to win on the road against TCU. The Bears end the regular season by playing at home against Big 12 regular-season champion Houston.

The Bears are outside of the top 30 in the NCAA NET rankings thanks to a 3-9 road record and a 5-10 mark against Quad 1 teams. Per college basketball news, some bracketology sites have Baylor as a No. 8 seed.

West Virginia trailed by as many as 30 points in a recent loss to BYU and the Mountaineers are just 48th in the NCAA NET rankings.

Cincinnati is only 1-10 in Quad 1 games and 4-8 on the road. The idea of a team with a losing conference record getting an at-large bid makes us a bit queasy. The Bearcats will need to make some noise in the Big 12 tournament. The NCAAB betting lines list Cincinnati as a 9.5-point favorite against visiting Kansas State on Wednesday.

Who Will Join Houston in March Madness?

Houston has already clinched the top seed in the Big 12 tournament. The Cougars don’t want to slip up and lose their grip on a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Per NCAAB betting trends, the Cougars go after their 10th win in a row in what could be a tricky game at Baylor on Saturday.

Texas Tech, Iowa State and Arizona are also in the top 10 in the NCAA NET rankings. There will be plenty of eyes among those who bet online in Saturday’s matchup between Arizona and Kansas.

THIS IS OUR STATE pic.twitter.com/aGkzoGBegH

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 5, 2025

While Houston has already secured the top seed in the Big 12 tournament, four teams are within one game in the battle for second place.

Kansas is 5-9 in Quad 1 games and the Jayhawks are 20th in the NCAA NET rankings after losing their last two games.

Bubble has Burst Barring Big 12 Tourney Run

Utah, Arizona State and TCU are in the top 70 in the NCAA NET rankings. They have combined to go 8-12 in Quad 2 games and 10-31 in Quad 1 games so it will take a run to the Big 12 tournament title for them to be a bid stealer and make it into the March Madness bracket.

Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.

Check Out Last Week’s Big 12 March Madness Bubble Teams Stats

• Big 12 March Madness Bubble Watch: BYU Bolsters NCAAB Odds

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