NCAA Tournament Bubble Watch

By Andrew Musur on February 10, 2015

The bubble is a place no team wants to be, when come March Madness comes calling. Players and coaches sweat and stress enough during practice and games, but come Selection Sunday, no thank you.  No coach wants to sweat all of Selection Sunday, but the NCAA tournament makes coaches sweat. Here are my thoughts on what I think about this year’s bubble teams.

St. John’s University, 14-8 (4-6), Big East Conference

RPI: 41 SOS: 26

Key Wins: Providence twice (RPI #20)

Bad Losses: Depaul (RPI #119), Creighton (RPI #125)

St. John’s has struggled through a tough Big East schedule. The Red Storm are 4-6, and sit in eighth place, four games behind Villanova. Although the Big East has a rough ride, St. John’s still has some pretty good wins. The Red Storm won both meetings against Providence and beat Minnesota, Syracuse and Saint Mary’s earlier this year.

Verdict: At this current moment I would have to say St. John’s is on the outside looking in. The Red Storm has played an incredibly tough schedule, but still need a couple of big wins to get off the bubble. Lucky for St. John’s they still have Xavier twice, Georgetown twice and Villanova on their schedule, all RPI top 35 teams.

Old Dominion University, 18-4 (7-3), Conference USA

RPI: 42 SOS: 150

Key Wins: VCU (RPI #9), LSU (RPI #51)

Bad Losses: Middle Tennessee (RPI #160), UAB (RPI #149)

Old Dominion started the season out hot winning 15 of their first 17 games, including non conference wins over LSU and VCU. The Monarchs are led by junior, Trey Freeman.

Freeman has been been a constant nightmare for opposing defenses. He shoots nearly 43 percent from the field and scores 16.3 points per game. Freeman is a guy I would want leading my team to the tournament.

Verdict: Don’t get me wrong, the Monarchs have some great wins over top 50 RPI teams, but their weak schedule and bad losses are enough for me to keep them out of the tournament.

University of Illinois, 16-8 (6-5), Big Ten Conference

RPI: 47 SOS: 69

Key Wins: Baylor (RPI #11), Maryland (RPI #16), Michigan State (RPI #52)

Bad Losses: Nebraska (RPI #101)

http://sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/rebrand.jpg

When Illinois guard Rayvonte Rice went out with a hand injury on January 6, few thought the Illini would survive. The Illini have gone 6-3 since losing Rice, and have won their last three games.

Illinois has an extremely strong resume with RPI top 15 wins over Baylor and Maryland. The Illini also do not have a “bad” loss all year. Seven of the eight Illini losses this year came on the road or at a neutral site.

Verdict: With their strong wins and tough conference schedule there is no reason the Illini should not get into the tournament.

The George Washington University, 17-6 (7-3), Atlantic 10 Conference

RPI: 49 SOS: 179

Key Wins: Wichita State (RPI #18), Dayton (RPI #37)

Bad Losses: None. Worst Loss: Penn State (RPI #90)

George Washington has had an impressive year. The Colonials are on track to win over 20 games, and are only a game back in the Atlantic 10 race. George Washington really does not have a bad loss on the year. The Colonials did lose to Penn State back in December, but that did not hurt them much.

The Colonials have a huge game with VCU this Saturday. George Washington lost the first meeting by 24 points.

Verdict: I have to put George Washington into the field. They have not played the toughest schedule, but they do have a couple of quality wins. Not only do the Colonials have good wins, but they have no bad losses. The Colonials also have a huge opportunity to solidify their tournament bid when they play VCU (RPI #9).

UCLA, 14-10 (6-5), Pac 12

RPI: 50 SOS: 17

Key Wins: Utah (RPI #13), Stanford twice (RPI #45)

Bad Losses: California (RPI #107), Colorado (RPI #108)

UCLA has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation. The Bruins took on Oklahoma, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Kentucky during the non conference part of their schedule. Although UCLA did not take advantage of any of their non conference opportunities, the Bruins made up for it with big wins in Pac 12 play over Utah and Stanford.

Verdict: I do not think UCLA should be in the tournament, but I think they will sneak in. The Bruins’ five RPI top 50 losses have come by an average of 27.2 points. On the other hand, the Bruins’ three RPI top 50 wins only came by an average of 5.6 points per game.

The Bruins have been too inconsistent. The Bruins have six very winnable games remaining and also have an opportunity to boost their resume with a game at Arizona.

University Of Miami (FL), 15-8 (5-5), Atlantic Coast Conference

RPI: 54 SOS: 48

Key Wins: Duke (RPI #4), Illinois (RPI #47)

Bad Losses: Florida State (RPI #122), Eastern Kentucky (RPI #161)

The Miami Hurricanes have been tough to gauge this season. The Hurricanes have looked great in ACC battles with Duke, NC State and Syracuse, but have faltered against inferior opponents.

On the bright side four of Miami’s eight loses come to teams ranked inside the RPI top 25. With Louisville and North Carolina still left on the schedule Miami still has opportunities to improve their resume.

Verdict: Miami should be in the tournament. The Hurricanes have played a tough ACC schedule, and have fared well thus far. Unless the Hurricanes really screw up they will be dancing come March.

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format