Busting Brackets
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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Breaking down who remains in at-large contention

By Lukas Harkins

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 05: Justin Simon #5 of the St. John's Red Storm dunks the ball in the second half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Fiserv Forum on February 05, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - FEBRUARY 05: Justin Simon #5 of the St. John's Red Storm dunks the ball in the second half against the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Fiserv Forum on February 05, 2019 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 02: Indiana Hoosiers bench celebrates. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 02: Indiana Hoosiers bench celebrates. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Big Ten Conference

Lead-pipe lock: Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland

Firmly in the field: None.

Some perspiration: Ohio State

Double the deodorant: Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska.

Ohio State Buckeyes (15-7, 5-6 B10)

NET: 35 | KPI: 37 | SOR: 38 | BPI: 31 | KP: 34 | Sag: 34

Q1: 3-5 | Q2: 2-2 | Q3: 5-0 | Q4: 5-0 

After losing five straight games a couple of weeks ago, Ohio State has responded quite well. The Buckeyes have now won three of their last four games and while their wins are not particularly impressive, victories are the most important thing for every bubble team right now. Ohio State does not have a single bad loss on their resume and they also hold a decent collection of wins. With just a pedestrian finish in Big Ten play, they should make the tournament even if they might not look like a sure thing right now.

Indiana Hoosiers (13-10, 4-8 B10)

NET: 44 | KPI: 53 | SOR: 40 | BPI: 42 | KP: 45 | Sag: 33

Q1: 3-8 | Q2: 3-2 | Q3: 1-0 | Q4: 6-0

Indiana is in a really tough spot. After starting the season at 12-2 (3-0 B10), they have plummeted as of late. The Hoosiers have lost eight of their last nine games and are hanging onto a current bid in most bracketology updates (mine included) thanks to their to their collection of three elite wins. The problem is that those victories over Marquette, Louisville, and Michigan State might not carry them much longer. Things are looking bleak in Bloomington even though they are currently in my fields.

Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-7, 6-6 B10)

NET: 53 | KPI: 40 | SOR: 37 | BPI: 66 | KP: 51 | Sag: 49

Q1: 3-5 | Q2: 2-1 | Q3: 5-1 | Q4: 6-0

I am a big lower on Minnesota’s resume compared to most people. While many have pegged the Gophers as a No. 9-10 seed in recent weeks, I have kept the team in my “Last Four In” and that remains the case right now. Their record is quite solid but their resume could still use some work and predictive metrics are not tremendous with regards to this team. Minnesota will play five of its last eight games on the road and it will be tough to remain in the field, in my opinion. They are, though, on the right side of the cutline right now.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-10, 3-9 B10)

NET: 28 | KPI: 54 | SOR: 49 | BPI: 22 | KP: 23 | Sag: 22

Q1: 2-6 | Q2: 3-2 | Q3: 3-0 | Q4: 4-0

Nebraska’s collapse has been hard to watch. This season started so incredibly promising for this team and they looked like a sure-fire NCAA Tournament team just a couple of weeks ago after defeating Indiana on the road. Since then, though, the Cornhuskers have lost a key frontcourt member in Isaac Copeland for the season and dropped six consecutive games. Now with a pretty pedestrian bubble resume aside from elite predictive metrics, Nebraska finds itself trending very downwards while sitting right on the cutline.

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