Saturday, March 14, 2015

Bubble Watch

SEC:
SEC Bubble teams have been doing themselves no favors.  Texas A&M already has a bad loss to Auburn and Ole Miss to South Carolina.  Fringe contender Vanderbilt lost to Tennessee. LSU and Ole Miss, with their bad losses, are both bubble teams.
Locks (3): Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia
Probably In (0):
Bubble (3): LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):


ACC:
NC State is fine, even with a loss to Duke last night.  Miami will just have to wait and see after bowing out of Greensboro in a close quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame.
Locks (6): Virginia, Duke, UNC, Louisville, Notre Dame, NC State
Probably In (0):
Bubble (1): Miami
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0): 

Big 12:
Is Oklahoma St. really safe?  I think so, but I have to risk it a bit, as I don't rescind locks.  Meanwhile, I think Texas will make it (and may bump them to Probably In at some point before Sunday), but it is not certain.
Locks (6): Kansas, Iowa St., Oklahoma, Baylor, West Virginia, Oklahoma St.
Probably In (0):
Bubble (1): Texas
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):

Big Ten:
Indiana and Purdue have an advantage that many bubble teams don't- they are still alive in Chicago right now.  My guess is that both make it, but they both remain bubble teams for now.  Beating Maryland tonight would take the Hoosiers off the bubble.
Locks (5): Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan St., Ohio St., Iowa
Probably In (0):
Bubble (2): Indiana, Purdue
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):

Pac-12:
With Stanford's close loss to Utah, Stanford has no more opportunities to make a move and will not make the NCAA Tournament in 2015.  UCLA is right on the bubble and nearly grabbed a massive win tonight.
Locks (3): Arizona, Utah, Oregon
Probably In (0):
Bubble (1): UCLA
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):

Big East:
With how other teams in other conferences have done, St. John's ends all bubble drama for the Big East by joining the others as locks.
Locks (6): Villanova, Butler, Georgetown, Providence, Xavier, St. John's
Probably In (0):
Bubble (0):
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):

American:
Temple survived against Memphis and got a big win for its at-large prospects.  Beating Houston probably wasn't be enough for Tulsa- they probably need a win over UConn tomorrow- at a minimum.  There is an off chance that UConn could sneak in by beating Tulsa and losing to SMU, so I will bump them to Probably Out
Locks (2): SMU, Cincinnati
Probably In (0):
Bubble (2): Tulsa, Temple
Probably Out (1): UConn
Watch Out (0): 

Missouri Valley:
Locks (2): Northern Iowa, Wichita St.
Probably In (0):
Bubble (0):
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):

Mountain West:
Boise looks fine, but, they and all other teams anywhere near the bubble need to beware of the Wyoming Cowboys, who look like the only potential bid thief out there, with only San Diego St. in their way.
Locks (2): San Diego St., Colorado St.
Probably In (1): Boise St.
Bubble (0):
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (1): Wyoming

Atlantic-10:
A big come-from-behind win over La Salle keeps Davidson on the right side of the bubble for now.  A win over VCU tomorrow would likely do it.  Meanwhile, VCU's stopping-the-bleeding win over intra-city rival Richmond stops the worrying about the sliding Rams.  Richmond is now on life-support, Probably Out, while it awaits the committee.
Locks (2): VCU, Dayton
Probably In (1): Davidson
Bubble (0):
Probably Out (2): Richmond, Rhode Island
Watch Out (0):

West Coast:
After losing to Gonzaga in the WCC final, BYU has a long wait in store until it finally gets to know its fate on Sunday.  It really could go either way, and they are right on the cut line.
Locks (1): Gonzaga
Probably In (0):
Bubble (1): BYU
Probably Out (0):
Watch Out (0):

Other Contenders:
I guess I can throw Murray St. into the group of teams that are probably out.
Significant Auto-Bids: Wofford
Locks (0):
Probably In (0):
Bubble (0):
Probably Out (1): Murray St.

Totals:
Locks: 38
Probably In: 2
Bubble: 11 (for 7 spots)
Probably Out: 4
Watch Out: 1

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