3/9 Men's Basketball Bubble Watch
It’s Championship Week, and things are starting to really heat up on the crowded bubble. College Sports Madness has you covered for Selection Sunday, but there is still a lot of basketball to play before the bubble picture will become clear.
Last 4 in:
Tulsa (14-4, 21-9)
Good Wins: Memphis (twice), UConn, Temple (twice)
Bad Losses: Oral Roberts, Southeastern Oklahoma State
Week Ahead: AAC Tournament
Notes: If the Golden Hurricane can take care of business in the AAC Tournament, they should be in. That would mean getting to the championship game. Winning that and not having to worry about Selection Sunday would be good too.
BYU (13-5, 24-8)
Good wins: Stanford, Saint Mary’s (twice), at Gonzaga
Bad Losses: at DePaul, at Washington State, at Colorado
Week Ahead: WCC Tournament
Notes: The Cougars win over Gonzaga is probably the biggest win among bubble teams all year. That put them from the 4th team out, to the 3rd team in. They are still in that spot.
Temple (13-5, 21-9)
Good wins: Louisiana Tech, Kansas, UConn (twice), Memphis, Cincinnati,
Bad Losses: UNLV, St. Josephs,
Week Ahead: AAC Tournament
Notes: Not many bubble watch guys have both Temple and Tulsa in the field, but I do. Have you seen another bubble team with more good wins? No. If Temple can at least advance to the AAC Semifinals, they will be sitting pretty. But they have to do that.
Texas (8-10, 19-12)
Good wins: at Iowa, at UConn, West Virginia, Baylor
Bad Losses: None
Week Ahead: Big 12 Tournament
Notes: The Longhorns are in the field because…NO BAD LOSSES. Sure, they are 8-10 in their conference, but those 10 games were against very good teams. The win against Baylor was huge, and made them the last team in. If the Horns want to remain in, they absolutely cannot go one and done in the Big 12 Tournament.
First 4 Out:
Miami (FL) (10-8, 20-11)
Good wins: Illinois, at Duke, NC State
Bad Losses: Georgia Tech, at Florida State, at Wake Forest
Week Ahead: ACC Tournament
Notes: The Hurricane’s are out, but barely. They have to perform in the ACC Tourney to get in though, and hope the Hoosiers and Longhorns don’t do well in theirs. If The U advances to the ACC Semi’s…in.
Indiana (9-9, 19-12)
Good wins: SMU, at Butler, Ohio State, at Illinois, Maryland
Bad Losses: Eastern Washington, at Northwestern
Week Ahead: B1G Tournament
Notes: It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish, and the Hoosiers have not finished strong. IU has lost 5 of their last 7, including three in a row, and have looked horrible. They start the conference tourney with Northwestern, but then if they win that, they have to play Wisconsin…good luck.
Murray State (16-0, 27-5)
Good wins: Belmont (but not when it mattered)
Bad Losses: Houston
Week Ahead: Waiting for Selection Sunday
Notes: Murray State won 25 straight games, but isn’t going to make the tournament. That’s sickening. I personally think they deserve to make it, but they aren’t going to. They lost by one point in their conference championship game, and that’s going to keep them out. I join the fight. #RacersDeserveaBid
Texas A&M (11-7, 20-10)
Good wins: LSU (twice)
Bad Losses: at Kansas State, Alabama
Week Ahead: SEC Tournament
Notes: The Aggies were comfortably in this time last week! What happened?! Losing to two mediocre teams in Florida and Alabama happened, and now A&M in in bad shape. If they can win their first game in the SEC Tournament then go on to beat LSU for a 3rd time in the SEC Quarterfinals, then the Aggies are in good shape once again. But I wouldn’t count on that.
Safe, for now…(Next 4 In)
LSU (11-7, 22-9)
Colorado State (13-5, 26-5)
Oklahoma State (8-10, 18-12)
Ole Miss (11-7, 20-11)
NIT Bound (Next 4 Out)
UCLA (11-7, 19-12)
Old Dominion (13-5, 24-6)
Illinois (9-9, 19-12)
Rhode Island (13-5, 21-8)
Twitter: @WScottCSM
