KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Cincinnati coach Wes Miller is confident the Bearcats have done enough to warrant a spot in the NCAA Tournament field.
The problem is that decision doesn't rest with him.
Miller, considered to be on the hot seat a few weeks ago, led the Bearcats through an impressive finishing stretch in the rugged Big 12, winning six of their last eight in the regular season and beating Utah in the first round of the conference tournament.
Along the way, Cincinnati (18-15) routed No. 14 Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse and beat likely NCAA tourney teams BYU and UCF.
But an overtime loss to the Knights in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday, where the Bearcats blew an eight-point lead with about 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation, will make for a stressful Selection Sunday. Cincinnati's last shot to win the game ended when Jalen Celestine missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in the 66-65 defeat.
“I'm not in the room with the selection committee,” Miller said, “but if it's about the best teams at this point, we're one of the best teams in the country. Like, we're an NCAA Tournament team. If it's about overall resume, I'm sure you can make some arguments that we're not. But I think we've won seven of our last 10 Big 12 games. When's the last time somebody won seven out of 10 in the Big 12 and didn't play in the NCAA Tournament? Honestly? Like, we won seven out of 10 in this league.”
The Big 12 has long been considered among the toughest leagues in the country. It has three of the top seven in the AP Top 25.
Miller guided UNC Greensboro to the NCAA Tournament twice over a decade there, but he's yet to get the Bearcats to the dance. Their last appearance came in 2019, the last of nine consecutive tourney trips engineered by his predecessor, Mick Cronin.
Miller has had a winning season each of his five years at Cincinnati. But he has just two NIT trips and an appearance last season in the College Basketball Crown, the postseason event in Las Vegas for which the Big 12 is contractually obligated to provide teams.
“I mean, again, I don’t know what goes on. I certainly feel that we belong,” Miller said. "I know tonight would have helped, but it wasn’t like we got run out of the gym tonight. We have a three- or four-possession lead there late in the game.
“Again, if it’s about the best teams, I do believe we’d be in the field. But again, I don’t pretend to understand what goes on. So certainly we’ll hold out hope. But I realize tonight — tonight was difficult. I think everybody in our locker room understands that.”
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UCF center John Bol, center, tries to block a shot by Cincinnati forward Baba Miller, left, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MADRID (AP) — Anastasia Potapova dropped to her knees, put both hands on her face and started crying.
The “explosion of emotions inside” came after the 56th-ranked Potapova beat Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3 on Wednesday at the Madrid Open to become the first “lucky loser” to reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event.
She almost gave up the victory, squandering three match points in the second set and having to come back from 3-1 down in the third against the former No. 1-ranked player. It's been an impressive run considering Potapova lost in the qualifying tournament and only got a place in the main draw as a so-called lucky loser following the withdrawal of another player.
“I (had) a few match points in the second set, on serve, but I couldn't manage my nerves at that time,” she said. “It seems that this tournament keeps giving me second chances and I keep using them. So yeah, supper happy.”
Russia-born Potapova said she got a boost when her boyfriend, Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor, arrived to watch.
“I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set. I didn’t believe in myself at that moment,” she said. “But big respect to my boyfriend who came just on time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this, we are all together here, just keep going.’”
Potapova said Griekspoor is “not scared” of telling her anything.
“I just played, and mentally he kept me there,” she said. “It just happened at the such important moment, and it gave me a lot of energy. Mentally, I think he got this match. I did it physically. He did it mentally.”
She next will face Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Linda Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0.
The women's tour said Potapova was the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 or Tier I semifinal since the format’s inception in 1990. She has won four straight matches, including against world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in the round of 16.
“I didn’t expect myself being in the draw again because at first they didn’t take my name as a lucky loser,” she said. “And then the days kept on going and nobody was injured or pulling out. Then the last moment I got the information, literally 30 minutes before the (first-round) match, that I was given a chance to step on court here again.”
She said she had been just enjoying “some nice days” in the Spanish capital, with no expectations.
“Maybe that’s the key. You don’t need to be always so zoomed in and so locked in on the tournament,” Potapova said. “Maybe it’s just a matter of sometimes just enjoy yourself and enjoy the journey.”
She said it feels like “a miracle” to have advanced so far.
“It’s pretty rare when you get the second chance and that you go almost all the way,” Potapova said. “But ... I always say, if you got it, maybe you deserved it. I’m happy that I didn’t waste it, and I was able to convert it and to be here now.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic reacts during her match against Anastasia Potapova of Russia during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia returns the ball to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia reacts during her match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia reacts during her match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
Anastasia Potapova of Russia returns the ball to Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Pablo Garcia)
