Men’s Basketball Bubble Watch (2/15)
Warning: This Week’s Bubble Watch is dramatically different from last week.
Texas Tech, Creighton, and St. Bonaventure were not even in the picture. Now they are in the field.
George Washington was safe. Now they are the 5th team out.
Washington was in. Now they are the 7th team out.
Cincinnati was the last team in. Now they are not on the bubble and comfortably in.
And how bout those Wisconsin Badgers! Winners of seven straight after beating #2 Maryland on Saturday. They were the 6th team out last week, now they are the 6th team in.
It’s safe to say that plenty happened in the last week, and I expect the same this week. Buckle up, the rollercoaster ride to March Madness is just taking off.
To Note: Temple would be the Last Team In if they didn’t currently have the auto-bid for the AAC.
Big Bubble Games This Week
Tuesday: Creighton (Last 4 In) at Butler (First 4 Out)
Wednesday: LSU (First 4 Byes) vs Alabama
Saturday: St. Bonaventure (Last 4 In) at #19 Dayton
Saturday: Butler (First 4 Out) at #1 Villanova
Safe, For Now…. (Last 4 byes)
LSU
Seton Hall
Wisconsin
Florida State
Last 4 In:
Florida (7-5, 16-9)
Good wins: at St. Josephs, LSU, #9 West Virginia, Ole Miss (2)
Bad Losses: Tennessee
Week Ahead: at Georgia, at South Carolina
Notes: Florida is in big trouble. They are trending significantly downward, while SEC foes Vandy and Alabama are hot, and trying to sneak into the field. They have two very tough games coming up, both on the road. And then after that, they have Vandy and LSU. Most experts have Florida comfortably in, but they might have 12 losses going into March.
Texas Tech (5-7, 15-9)
Good wins: Texas, #14 Iowa State, #21 Baylor
Bad losses: Arkansas
Week Ahead: #3 Oklahoma, at Oklahoma State
Notes: Texas Tech wasn’t even in the picture last week. Not even in the picture! And after wins against Iowa State and Baylor, they are in the field. Shows you how fast a season can turn around.
Creighton (8-5, 17-9)
Good wins: at Seton Hall, #18 Butler, #5 Xavier, Marquette
Bad losses: Arizona State, Loyala (IL)
Week Ahead: at Butler
Notes: Just like Texas Tech, Creighton was nowhere in sight last week. Now they are in. Beating the #5 team in the country helps to say the least. The Blue Jays need to stay hot because their next two games are against fellow bubble teams Butler and Marquette.
St. Bonaventure (9-3, 17-6)
Good wins: at St. Josephs, George Washington
Bad losses: Hoftsra, Siena
Week Ahead: at La Salle, at #19 Dayton
Notes: It was hard for me to put the Bonnies in the field because of their weak non-conference schedule and the lack of a signature win. However, they have won five straight games and knocked off fellow Bubble team, George Washington, in the process. Their game against Dayton on Saturday could be the difference between them making or not making the field of 68.
First 4 out:
Butler (6-7, 17-8)
Good wins: Cincinnati, Purdue, at Seton Hall
Bad losses: None
Week Ahead: Creighton, at #1 Villanova
Notes: I just couldn’t put both Butler and Creighton in the field, so Butler stays out for now. But the two teams play each other on Tuesday in what’s the biggest Bubble game to date.
Clemson (8-5, 15-10)
Good wins: Florida State, Syracuse, Louisville, Duke, Miami, Pittsburgh
Bad losses: UMass, Minnesota, Virginia Tech
Week Ahead: Boston College, at NC State
Notes: Clemson went 1-1 last week, and at the moment stays out of the field. They have three (what should be) easy games coming up. They have to win all three of them to move onto the right side of the Bubble.
Ole Miss (6-6, 16-9)
Good wins: Vanderbilt
Bad losses: George Mason, Mississippi State
Week Ahead: at Texas A&M, at Auburn
Notes: The Rebels have an easy stretch to close the season, with four of their last six against the last four teams in the SEC standings. They are in decent shape.
BYU (10-4, 19-8)
Good wins: Gonzaga
Bad losses: Long Beach State, Harvard, Portland, Pacific
Week Ahead: at San Diego, San Diego
Notes: The Cougars took care of business last week, absolutely dismantling San Francisco and Santa Clara. Unfortunately for them, those four bad losses are still on their résumé.
Next 4 Out:
George Washington
Vanderbilt
Washington
Marquette
NIT Bound (At least now): Alabama, Houston, Tulsa, Oregon State, Georgia, Ohio State, Northwestern
