Which teams are right on the bubble?
Safer, but not safe: St. Bonaventure, Ohio State, Houston, Boise State
Last Four In: USC, St. Mary’s, Florida, Louisville
First Four Out: UCLA, St. John’s, Utah, UCF
More work to do: Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Marquette, Temple
Bids by Conference
Atlantic Coast: 8
Southeastern: 8
Big Ten: 6
Big 12: 6
Big East: 5
Pac-12: 3
American Athletic: 4
Atlantic 10: 2
West Coast: 2
The bubble is huge right now. There is very little separation right now between the teams that are in my projected field and those out. With that being said, though, this is a look at the teams who are hovering right around my cut line. The biggest takeaway from this grouping is the placement of the Pac-12 and the Big East.
For now, UCLA and Utah of the Pac-12 are sitting in my first four teams out of the bracket and are a key win away from reaching the field. The issue with this is that the only true high-quality wins in conference play would have to come over Arizona State or Arizona, two top-15 teams in the nation.
The Big East, on the other hand, has two teams both sitting on the outside looking in. On the opposite spectrum of the Pac-12, though, there are plenty of opportunities for quality wins in conference play. Marquette’s offense has the potential to outscore any team in the country and they could move up in a hurry. For St. John’s, they need to focus on holding serve until their stars return from injury.
Next: Player of the Year rankings
That concludes this first edition of Bracketology for the 2017-18 season. There is plenty of time for teams to move as conference play has only just begun. Continue to check back throughout the season for weekly (and sometimes more than one per week) updates to our projected bracket!
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