Bubble teams are running out of time to stack wins — and Miami (Ohio) continues to find ways to avoid a loss. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s 53-game men’s college basketball slate, a night that included some strong performances from teams on the NCAA Tournament cut line, a rare coaching ejection and a late-night top-10 upset in Los Angeles.
Is Miami (Ohio) a tournament lock?
The Miami (Ohio) RedHawks did it again, escaping with another close win in their home finale. Thanks to a frenetic final defensive possession, the RedHawks nipped Toledo, 74-72, to move to 30-0 on the season — just the fifth team to do so in the last 40 years. The win also secured the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament and at least a share of the regular season championship, Miami’s first since 2005.
It was not easy, though. That tight margin marked Miami’s seventh MAC game that went to overtime or was decided by three points or less. The RedHawks have repeatedly found ways to win those close games, though they have traditionally relied on their lethal offense.
On Tuesday, the defense saved them. After sophomore forward Brant Byers missed the front end of a one-and-one with a 2-point and 13 seconds left, the visiting Rockets had a possession to tie or take the lead — and potentially end Miami’s dream run on senior night in Oxford. But the RedHawks bothered Toledo guard Leroy Blyden’s drive to the hoop, poking the ball away and eventually coming away with a game-clinching turnover.
Crucially, the RedHawks got point guard Luke Skaljac back from a wrist injury that kept him out of their 2-point win over Western Michigan last Friday. Skaljac tallied 11 points, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes, overcoming another injury scare in the first half to help fuel his squad. After losing their original starting point guard, Evan Ipsaro, to injury back in December, keeping Skaljac healthy for the postseason is a major priority.
At this point, the RedHawks should be in great shape for an NCAA Tournament bid. They have accumulated roughly 2.4 Wins Above Bubble. Even if they lose their regular-season finale and opener in the MAC Tournament, they would still be at around +0.7 WAB, enough to feel decent with what would be a 30-2 overall record.
Tuesday’s bubble winners
Whether you thought the bubble was weak before Tuesday, it undeniably got stronger based on the night’s results. Many of the cutline candidates picked up victories, some of which were needle-moving, and the competition for bids ratcheted up a notch.
The biggest winner was TCU, which earned the Holy Grail for a bubble team: a road win at a high seed. The Horned Frogs knocked off No. 10 Texas Tech, 73-65, to hand the Red Raiders their first defeat since JT Toppin went down with a torn ACL. That triumph puts TCU in a terrific spot with just one regular-season game remaining, as the Horned Frogs have seemingly fully washed away the opening-night Q4 debacle loss at home to New Orleans.
UPSET IN LUBBOCK 😤 @TCUBasketball takes down No. 10 Texas Tech! pic.twitter.com/9eSeWiXxmi
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 4, 2026
Two SEC teams claimed big home wins over teams destined to dance, as well. Georgia outscored Alabama, 98-88, to lock up a bid. The Bulldogs were already in a comfortable position entering the night, and taking down the Tide ensures Georgia will be safe come Selection Sunday. Texas A&M, meanwhile, is not quite as safe, but the Aggies cooled off Kentucky, 96-85, in another high-scoring affair. Trailing 30-18 with 8:05 left in the first half, Bucky McMillan’s bunch went on an extended 44-11 run to flip the game to a 62-41 Aggie lead. That result leaves Texas A&M on the inside of the field, likely elevated above any risk of going to Dayton for the First Four for now.
The Big 12 delivered multiple nutty results. Despite losing big man Parsa Fallah to a torn ACL, Oklahoma State posted a massive Q1 road victory at UCF, beating the Knights in overtime, 111-104. Five Cowboys hit double-figure scoring, led by Anthony Roy’s 27 points and Kanye Clary’s 23. The Cowboys are just 6-11 in the Big 12, but their resume metrics give them an outside shot at earning a bid.
Elsewhere, in Cincinnati, the Bearcats continued their late surge toward the cutline with a demolition of reeling BYU, 90-68. Their resume metrics — specifically their WAB — remain lacking, but Cincinnati has now won six of seven and has a pivotal finale at TCU to claw even closer to the field. — Jim Root
Jalen Celestine and Cincinnati are hoping a late-season surge can get them into the NCAA Tournament. (Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
More bubble notes
• One of the most polarizing squads, Auburn, got a necessary home win over LSU, 88-74, to improve to 16-14 overall. The Tigers are still a controversial case with that record, and they need to win at Alabama this weekend to have any level of comfort before Championship Week.
• VCU survived a scare from George Mason, outlasting the Patriots in a tightly-contested second half to scrape out a necessary 70-65 victory.
• Virginia Tech kept the good vibes going in the state, as the Hokies did what they had to do by beating Boston College, 72-63. Clipping the Eagles’ wings does not help a resume, but importantly, it avoids hurting it. The same goes for Seton Hall’s 77-68 win at Xavier. The Pirates desperately need to upset St. John’s on Friday, though it could be more difficult if shot blocker Najai Hines cannot play. The freshman big man turned an ankle late and left the game.
• Not all at-large hopefuls were happy on Tuesday. San Diego State went to Boise State for a rematch of an instant classic three-overtime game back on Jan. 3, and the Aztecs fell to the Broncos, 86-77. After losing four of five, they are now in dire shape with only a home game against UNLV left in the regular season.
• West Virginia had a similarly disappointing road trip, losing at a PJ Haggerty-less Kansas State, 65-63. For a team that was clearly on the outside of the field already, that kind of defeat means the Mountaineers are bordering on “autobid or bust.”
• Missouri suffered a big loss at Oklahoma, 80-64, continuing a roller-coaster of a year for the Tigers. Dennis Gates’ team is still a tier above true bubble danger, but if the Tigers lose two more in a row to end the year, the situation could get sweaty. — Root
Self ejected in Kansas loss
For the third time in his coaching career, Bill Self was ejected from a game. During the first half of the Jayhawks’ 70-60 loss to Arizona State, Self crossed half-court to argue a foul call on Darryn Peterson. With Kansas down 23-16 at the time, Self received a pair of technicals, but even after the ejection, the lead grew to 20 points by halftime.
“I’m disappointed in myself that I wasn’t out there with the guys to finish the game, but that was a pretty temperamental crew tonight, but that didn’t cost us,” Self said after the game. “What cost us was that we weren’t ready to play, and we’re not good enough. Our players are not talented enough not to be ready and be energized.”
Kansas HC Bill Self is given two technicals and ejected from the game, after a foul was called on Darryn Peterson on this play. pic.twitter.com/RwKHjlAEB8
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 4, 2026
Later in the first half, Kansas assistant Jacque Vaughn was assessed a technical for arguing with the referee.
As The Athletic’s CJ Moore pointed out, Doug Sirmons has officiated nine games in nine days. Officials are independent contractors who are incentivized to work as many games as possible. Could the tough schedule have affected the crew’s levelheadedness in the moment?
That’s not to say Self’s ejection was unwarranted. He may have crossed the line and at least deserved one technical. Self disagreed on receiving the second.
“I came out of the box and he gave me a (technical), which is fine, but by no stretch did I do anything to deserve a second (technical), but that’s those guys for you. He told me to get back into the box, and I didn’t get back in there quick enough, so that’s on me.”
Kansas cut the lead to 2 in the second half, but big performances from Moe Odum (23 points, six assists) and Massamba Diop (19 points and three blocks) lifted the Sun Devils to an upset win at home.
It was a brutally inefficient shooting game for both teams, with Kansas shooting 29 percent and Arizona State not much better at 32 percent. The two teams combined for 31 turnovers.
For the Jayhawks, this loss doesn’t do too much in terms of the Big 12 standings because Texas Tech — which is one spot ahead of Kansas — lost to TCU. According to CBB Analytics, the odds of the Jayhawks moving to the No. 3 spot from No. 4 actually increased after Tuesday’s results.
From the ASU side, this may have been head coach Bobby Hurley’s final home game. Hurley has been at the helm for 11 seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament three times, but never advanced past the first round. The last three years, the Sun Devils have posted a losing record, but this season, they now have two ranked wins over Texas Tech and Kansas.
Hurley told The Athletic’s Doug Haller that he’s “in (his) prime” and wants to continue to coach in Tempe. Hurley has one more game this season against No. 6 Iowa State in Ames on Saturday, but his departure may be inevitable. — Matthew Ho
UCLA picks up a third ranked win
UCLA is a team that could turn Pauley Pavilion into a graveyard for ranked foes, but resides in the strange margins between brilliance and bafflement. The Bruins are capable of a marquee win one night the stumbling to a head-scratching collapse on the next.
They are now the owner of three Quad 1 home wins, but are also the same team that spent Sunday absorbing a loss at Minnesota, a squad lingering below .500. UCLA is the same team that, just two weeks ago, was the punchline of the sport — flattened in back-to-back Big Ten blowouts while its coach’s theatrics in East Lansing ricocheted across national discourse.
And contrary to its most recent big Quad 1 win — a comeback against Illinois in this very building 10 days ago — there was no chase required. The Bruins dictated every inch of the night and never surrendered the lead in a 72-52 takedown of No. 9 Nebraska. In the process, UCLA handed the Huskers their first double-digit defeat of the season and nudged its own resume into safer territory, climbing to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten while vaulting nine spots to No. 32 in KenPom and squarely into tournament position.
Incredible. Pauley Pavilion is emptying by the second as the Bruins lead the No. 9 Huskers by 21 points with less than a minute to play. UCLA is about to take its fourth Quad 1 win of the season, 3/3 at home, in dominating fashion on Senior Night. pic.twitter.com/pBYM9WIq6O
— Ira Gorawara (@IraGorawara) March 4, 2026
Tuesday night’s game looked nothing like the one that saw UCLA trudging off the floor in Minneapolis three days earlier after surrendering 58 percent shooting to the Gophers. This time, the Mick Cronin-styled defensive spine returned.
Nebraska, which arrived in Westwood with the nation’s fifth-most efficient defense per KenPom, and a roster that averages 11.14 triples a game, saw its strengths turn to a dead end, shooting just 38.8 percent from the field and 5 for 24 from deep. The Huskers’ clean looks were swallowed whole by a Bruins defense that switched on the perimeter and crowded the lane behind it.
Trent Perry paced the Bruins with 20 points on 8 for 15 shooting, a response he said was fueled in part by Sunday’s scoreless outing at Minnesota — a night that brought what he described postgame as “a different type of adversity,” including hateful comments and threats that flooded his social media messages. The sophomore said he channeled that into a “bounceback” performance for a group of seniors honored before tipoff, helping UCLA seize control early and never loosening its grip.
Perry’s burst anchored a UCLA attack that also drew 14 points and eight rebounds from Eric Dailey Jr., whose defensive tenacity helped turn Pauley Pavilion into the latest stop where a contender arrived with ambition and left with it stripped away — Nebraska’s pursuit of a conference tournament triple bye falling short. — Ira Gorawara