The Cincinnati Bearcats remain firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, but one prominent analyst believes the Bearcats have a resume worthy of dancing in March.
Former WNBA champion turned analyst Renee Montgomery recently made a public case for Cincinnati during an appearance on CBS Sports’ College Basketball Show. Montgomery pointed to Cincinnati’s recent surge and several signature wins as reasons the Bearcats should be taken seriously by the selection committee.
“I’d like to put my case in for Cincinnati,” Montgomery said. “I think when you look at their season, first of all, you want teams who are playing well, and they’ve won six out of their last seven. They have three Quad 1 wins, and they beat some major teams. They beat Kansas at Kansas, Iowa State, and BYU. I don’t know, but I can see a case for Cincy in the tourney.”
Those wins carry real weight. Victories over the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, the Iowa State Cyclones, and the BYU Cougars represent some of the most impressive results on Cincinnati’s resume this season. Winning at Allen Fieldhouse alone is something very few teams accomplish in a given year.
Still, despite those high-end wins and a late-season push, the Bearcats remain on the outside looking in, according to the latest bracket projections. In Joe Lunardi’s most recent bracketology for ESPN, Cincinnati sits at No. 73 overall, which places them five spots outside the projected Field of 68.
That means the path forward is fairly clear.
If Cincinnati wants to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, it will likely need to pick up additional wins in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament. A deep run in Kansas City could dramatically strengthen the Bearcats’ resume and move them into safer territory before Selection Sunday arrives.
For now, Cincinnati remains just outside the field. But with quality wins already on the resume and analysts like Montgomery publicly backing their case, the Bearcats still have a legitimate chance to play their way into March Madness.
