So little time, so many teams on the bubble. Let’s burst a few dreams right now.
I’m saying right now USC is out. Take a look at the schedules of all Pac-10 teams and you’ll see there’s a deficiency of truly impressive non-conference wins. Now take a look at it from the mindset of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee (if such a thing can realistically be done). USC has played a few very close games this year. But big deal. If you look down the road, you have to think teams like Butler and Davidson will command at-large bids if they’re unsuccessful in the Horizon and Southern tournaments. That’s going to cost a couple of teams elsewhere. If USC doesn’t play lights out down the stretch, they could be one of those teams.
Here’s a tough one to call if you are doing some basketball betting, but UAB is bouncing on that bubble, again. But they have a few things going for them, namely an undefeated record at home and the majority of their losses to ranked teams. Plus they took out the Wildcats on the road…quite impressive. If you are thinking about doing some basketball betting, keep an eye on them, too, to make a run. They could just be the team that ends Memphis’ conference winning streak later this month at home. That couldn’t hurt.
OK, a quick hunch. Utah State makes it in as a “bubble lock” if that makes sense. Even if they don’t secure the automatic WAC tourney bid, they’re in.
How about a look at the Big 10? Ohio State and Penn State are both bubble teams, no doubt about it. Northwestern, even with victories over Minnesota and Michigan State on the road, is pretty much out of the picture now. And Penn State? Well, would think 20 wins with victories over Purdue, Michigan St and Illinois would secure them a spot in the poker tournament, but it waits to be seen.
Of course, the college basketball odds question is how many bids will the Big 10 get? If common predictions down the stretch come through, and Penn State and, say, Wisconsin both win at least the first round matchups in the conference tournament, the Big 10 very well might fill up 7 out of 63 spots.
It’s not like betting on soccer, this is a tough conference to predict, and the way Minnesota has been playing of late, they’ll likely drop to Wisconsin. They might lose to Michigan, too.