Who's on the Bubble in College Basketball?
Atssportsline.com
We’re now just a few weeks away from March Madness. Let’s take a look at which teams are close to making the 68-team NCAA Tournament, which ones are locks, which teams will end up in the NIT, CBI or CIT tournaments and which ones are heading to the beach. This is a very compelling college basketball season and once the postseason starts, it’s anybody’s game. Let's take a look at where the bubble teams stand as of Wednesday, February 13, with emphasis on strength of schedule and RPI. The RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is a tool that the selection committee will look before they select their NCAA Tournament picks.
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
Who's in?: Duke, Miami, Fla.,
Who is on the right track: NC State (17-7, 5-4 ACC, RPI: 17, SOS: 7) needed a big shot from Scott Wood to beat Clemson on the road. They still have North Carolina and Florida State on he road. A home win over Duke should get them in but can’t afford to be under .500 in the ACC. Who needs help? North Carolina (15-7, 6-4 ACC, RPI: 36, SOS: 29) beat Wake but got rocked by Miami on the road. They are at Maryland and host Florida State, NC State and Duke. They have to continue to win..... Florida State (13-10, 5-6 ACC, RPI: 65, SOS: 15) is falling apart. They don’t have enough strong wins and have some very poor losses. Their strength of schedule is keeping them alive ...... Maryland (17-7, 5-6 ACC; RPI: 72, SOS: 115). The Terps had another tough loss at home to Virginia last week. They have no profile other than beating NC State at home. Beating Duke at home on Saturday would change a lot of things......Virginia (17-6, 7-3 ACC, RPI: 80, SOS: 155) would be in during a normal ACC season but a poor SOS and RPI is still keeping them on the bubble. They have a nice win at Wisconsin but six sub-100 losses. If they can beat Miami, North Carolina or Florida State on the road and finish well over .500 in the ACC, they should be in.
Atlantic Ten Conference:
Who's in? none.
Who is on the right track: Butler (19-4, 7-2 A10, RPI: 14, SOS: 50) held off George Washington and really should be in barring a complete collapse. Who needs help?: La Salle (16-6, 6-3 A10, RPI: 35, SOS: 57) is close with their wins over Butler and at VCU. They just need more wins......VCU (19-5, 6-2 A10, RPI: 39, SOS: 93) should beat UMass and GW at home .Beating Butler at home would be huge because they need more wins for their resume’ but they are close.....Temple (16-7, 5-4 A10, RPI: 39, SOS: 55) is getting closer after a win at Dayton. They need a win at UMass to help their cause.....St. Louis (18-5, 5-4 A10, RPI: 56, SOS: 107) has road wins at Duquesne and St. Bonaventure, but a bad home loss to Rhode Island. A win over Butler was huge and Dayton helped. Beating VCU and La Salle at home would cement their cause since their numbers are not great........Charlotte (17-6, 5-4 A10, RPI: 61, SOS: 122) beat Xavier at home but is struggling at the wrong time. They can fix things with a win at Butler.
Big East Conference
Who's In? Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown
Who is on the right track? Marquette (17-6, 8-3, RPI: 16, SOS: 17) has struggled on the road this year and fell at Georgetown on Monday night. They have roadies coming up against Seton Hall, Villanova, Rutgers and St. John’s. ....Pittsburgh (20-5, 8-4 BE, RPI: 29, SOS: 65) has good wins at Georgetown and against ineligible Connecticut. A win at Cincinnati was huge and now they just need to be steady to get in.....Cincinnati (18-6, 6-5 BE, RPI: 30, SOS: 33) has good wins over Marquette, Pitt and Oregon, but they need more. A loss at home to Pitt was tough and at Providence wasn’t good. A home win over Georgetown might now be needed.....Who needs help?: Notre Dame (19-5, 7-4 BE, RPI: 41, SOS: 81). Notre Dame is back in the picture after a five overtime win at home against Louisville. They have trips against Pittsburgh, Marquette and Louisville.......Villanova (14-9, 6-5 BE, RPI: 63, SOS: 34) is hanging in there after two average wins. A road win at Cincinnati and UConn can’t hurt.
Big Ten Conference
Who's In? Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State
Who’s on the right track: Minnesota (17-7, 5-6 B10, RPI: 13, SOS: 2) has a great RPI and strength of schedule. But that’s not enough. Losing at home to Illinois means that they have now lost six of eight. Thursday night’s game against Wisconsin is big......Ohio State (17-6, 7-4 B10, RPI: 23, SOS: 20) is lost at Michigan in overtime and then to Indiana at home. Not bad losses but a win over Northwestern isn’t going to cement their cause. At least they don’t have bad losses so they should get in.....Wisconsin (17-7, 8-3 Big 10; RPI: 33, SOS: 24) beat Michigan in overtime thanks to Ben Brush. Nobody wants to play the Badgers....Who needs help? Illinois (16-8, 4-7 Big 10, RPI: 25, SOS:4) is back on the bubble. Wins over Indiana and at Minnesota puts them back in the mix. Of course, they have to win more games. But add the Butler and Gonzaga wins to the mix and it’s hard not to imagine them being in.
Big 12 Conference
Who's In? Kansas
Who’s on the right track?: Kansas State (18-5, 8-3 Big 12, RPI: 22, SOS: 44) got blown out by Kansas on Monday. They have a solid profile though with a chance to claim the Big 12 title.Who needs help?: Oklahoma (16-7, 7-4 B12, RPI: 19, SOS: 9) Oklahoma has wins in the 51-100 range and their Kansas win was huge. They are a few wins away from making it.....Baylor (15-8, 6-3 B12, RPI: 49, SOS: 21) has two strong wins over BYU and Kentucky on the road. A loss to Oklahoma State didn’t help since they are also on the bubble. A trip to KState on Saturday is big....Oklahoma State (17-5, 6-3 B12, RPI: 28 , SOS: 64) has a win over Kansas on the road and now they face them at home next week. That would just put them in if they aren’t already ....Iowa State (16-7, 6-4 B12, RPI: 38, SOS: 58) will face Texas in Austin for Myck Kabongo’s season debut. They have a long way to go to improve their profile.
Missouri Valley Conference:
Who’s In? Creighton, Wichita State.
Who needs help? Wichita State (20-5, 9-4 MVC, RPI: 45, SOS: 130) had a poor loss at Southern Illinois. They have road games left at Creighton and at Indiana State. They will face a decent Detroit team in the BracketBusters game but that’s not enough to get them in .
Mountain West Conference
Who's In? New Mexico
Who’s on the right track? San Diego State (16-5, 6-3 MWC, RPI: 27, SOS: 48) has a quality win over UCLA and New Mexico. They have a tough schedule coming up. Xavier Thomas is back and that should help them for their road games coming up.....UNLV (17-6, 5-4 MWC, RPI: 20, SOS: 30) beat New Mexico at home, which was huge. They also have San Diego State and Colorado State at home so they aren’t far away......Colorado State (17-4, 6-2 MWC, RPI: 15, SOS: 56) beat Nevada on the road. They are at UNLV, Air Force and at home against New Mexico. They have a chance to make it with a couple of wins.....Who needs help?: Boise State (14-7, 4-5 MWC, RPI: 43, SOS: 69) has some nice wins at Creighton and at home against UNLV but they are under .500 in the league. Just have to keep winning.
Pac-12 Conference
Who's In? Arizona.
Who’s on the right track? Oregon (19-5, 8-3 P12, RPI: 42, SOS: 99) hope to get Dominic Artis back from a foot injury. They have dropped three in row before beating Utah........UCLA (18-6, 6-2 P12, RPI: 37, SOS: 39) will have five of their seven remaining games on the road. They take on California on the road on Thursday....Who needs help?: Colorado (16-7, 6-5 P12, RPI: 18, SOS: 16) beat both Oregon schools on the road. They host Arizona on Thursday, which would be a huge boost...
Southeastern Conference
Who's In? Florida
Who’s on the right track? Mississippi (18-5, 7-3 SEC, RPI: 47, SOS: 112) are fading at the wrong time. They fell at Missouri and now they have just one quality win-Missouri.......Missouri (17-6, 6-4 SEC, RPI: 30, SOS: 54) has two decent wins on neutral courts to VCU and Illinois. They also beat Ole Miss, but that’s not a great win now. A home win over Florida would be great....Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC, RPI: 44, SOS: 60) lost to Florida on Tuesday and then they lost Nerlens Noels with a knee injury. They could still make the tournament but it will be a lot tougher.
Other teams:
Who's In? Gonzaga
Belmont (18-5, 11-1 OVC, RPI: 20, SOS: 68) has just one decent win over Middle Tennessee State. They lost at Murray State for their first Ohio Valley Conference loss. They have no margin for error....... Bucknell (19-4, 7-1 Patriot League, RPI: 58, SOS: 182) will face Lehigh on Feb. 18. A win over La Salle was nice but might not be enough....Memphis (20-3, 9-0 CUSA, RPI: 22, SOS: 101) beat Tennessee on the road. That’s about it, so they’ll need to keep winning in the mediocre C-USA to get in as an at-large.....Middle Tennessee State (22-4, 14-1Sun Belt, RPI; 29, SOS: 113) has a strong win over Ole Miss, which has lost some luster. They might have to run the table and get to the final to get in......Louisiana Tech (21-3, 12-0 WAC, RPI: 51, SOS: 214) doesn’t have a lot of quality games left. win over Utah State would be decent but they may have to win out to get the at-large. ...St. Mary’s (20-4, 10-1 WCC. RPI: 50, SOS: 146) beat BYU on the road and Utah State on the road. They play Creighton in the BracketBusters. They take on Gonzaga, BYU and Creighton at home in a 10-day stretch.