In between Bracketology updates this week, here is another edition of the Bubble Watch, which details every team on the current bubble.
Welcome to another edition of the Bubble Watch and our mailbag!
Before getting into it, this is an important message regarding an update in format for the Bubble Watch: Games played against either a team currently in the projected field or sitting on the bubble count is a game against a potential tournament team. This record is now a part of each team’s brief resume in the Bubble Watch. Also, RPI and SOS numbers are found via CBS.
In our mailbag, I took to Twitter looking for questions regarding Bracketology, the bubble, or just the general college basketball world. Below, I answer the questions I received prior to getting into the Bubble Watch for this week.
If you still have questions about any of these topics, we’ll be back soon for another edition. Well, without further ado, let’s get started.
Has Indiana's bubble officially bursted?
— Drew Dinnhaupt (@drewdinnhaupt_) February 20, 2017
Now, it’s not out of the question completely, given they still have Northwestern and Purdue on the schedule, but I think their bubble is now burst. This is the first time this season that I do not have them included in the below Bubble Watch and I don’t think they will get back on it.
Now losers in six of their last seven games, the Hoosiers are now 15-12 on the year and 5-9 in conference. Those wins over Kansas and North Carolina are awesome, but they cannot carry a resume by themselves. Indiana needs to get some serious work done in the next few weeks to make it, and I think their bubble is officially popped.
How far can PJ Fleck take the Gophers?
— Matt McClannahan (@MattMcClannahan) February 20, 2017
Although PJ Fleck is the head football coach at Minnesota, I will not let Matt’s obsession with Fleck distract from the question at hand being how far the Minnesota basketball team can go this season. After going on a five-game losing streak earlier in the Big Ten season, it had seemed like Minnesota was losing their chances at an at-large bid. Then, however, the Gophers stabilized, winning five in a row, albeit not against the top competition in the Big Ten.
They will look to build off of this success into the postseason and will likely enter the tournament around a seven seed. So far this season, Minnesota has shown the ability to defeat plenty of teams potentially in the range of an 8-11 seed (UT-Arlington, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Michigan). However, their ability to knock off either a one or two seed is still yet to be determined.
Because of this, I think that the most likely situation is a loss in the second round for Minnesota.
That concludes our mailbag for this week, so let’s get into the Bubble Watch. Once again, here is a brief look at how the system works.
Categories for the Bubble Watch:
Lead-Pipe Lock: These are teams that are guaranteed to make the tournament and there is such a small likelihood that they miss the tournament that they are categorized as “locks.”
Some Perspiration: These are teams that should make the tournament. They are likely already in the Bracketology prior to this Bubble Watch and are usually in with room to spare.
Better Double Up On The Deodorant: These teams are very much on the fence. They could be in the tournament at the current time, but there is very little room between them being in and them being out. Most of these teams are out of the tournament looking for wins to play their way in.
Also, if there is a team not mentioned in this edition of the Bubble Watch that should be, don’t worry. There is still time left for teams to work their way up onto the bubble and potentially into the tournament. This edition of the Bubble Watch takes into account results through February 21st.
For any questions or comments on this Bubble Watch, tweet your thoughts at @BustingBrackets or @hardwiredsports (that’s me!).