I get what you're saying. And don't get me wrong, I love this time of year in college basketball. But it's akin to the NFL playing a 16-game regular season and then each division playing a single-elimination tourney in Week 17 and 18 to determine division champion.
So the 2-14 Bengals still have a chance at the end of the year if they play out of their minds and catch the 12-4 Ravens on a bad day in January.