Busting Brackets
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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Who is shooting for an at-large bid?

By Lukas Harkins

BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers prepares to shoot a free throw against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on January 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Romeo Langford #0 of the Indiana Hoosiers prepares to shoot a free throw against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on January 14, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 05: Justin Simon #5 of the St. John’s Red Storm reacts. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 05: Justin Simon #5 of the St. John’s Red Storm reacts. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Big East Conference

Lead-pipe lock: Villanova, Marquette

Firmly in the field: 

Some perspiration: St. John’s

Double the deodorant: Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall, Georgetown.

St. John’s Red Storm (18-7, 6-6 BE)

NET: 47 | KPI: 32 | SOR: 35 | BPI: 48 | KP: 53 | Sag: 48

Q1: 4-4 | Q2: 4-1 | Q3: 2-2 | Q4: 8-0

St. John’s once again put together an inconsistent week but at least they are winning games. After splitting their home games with Providence and Butler during this past week, the Red Storm have now alternated wins and losses over their last six games (3-3). And with every other bubble team floundering, SJU has moved up a bit during this stretch. They are now in pretty safe positioning with a favorable schedule approaching to finish the year. Sure, they have to play three more road games but those are against the bottom of the conference. The Red Storm *should* dance. Current seed projection: No. 10.

Seton Hall Pirates (15-9, 6-6 BE)

NET: 61 | KPI: 39 | SOR: 44 | BPI: 61 | KP: 61 | Sag: 53

Q1: 2-6 | Q2: 7-1 | Q3: 3-2 | Q4: 3-0

Seton Hall finally made a bit of a move up the NET rankings this week (+6) and that is a very big deal. Even though the committee did not show a ton of favoritism towards their metric during the Bracket Preview, it can assumed that teams sitting in the 70+ range are definitely in danger of being excluded from consideration. Now that the Pirates have made that move, they should be in most projected fields. This is especially true when you consider that their record looks a lot better following back-to-back home wins over Creighton and Georgetown during this past week. The Pirates have a very difficult remaining schedule, though, as they will likely be favored in just one of their final six games. Current seed projection: No. 12 (Last Four In).

Butler Bulldogs (14-11, 5-7 BE)

NET: 53 | KPI: 45 | SOR: 70 | BPI: 49 | KP: 54 | Sag: 44

Q1: 1-7 | Q2: 6-3 | Q3: 4-1 | Q4: 3-0

Butler posted a relatively neutral week on the whole by splitting their road matchups with Georgetown and St. John’s (in OT). Because of this, the Dawgs remain right on the Big Dance cutline as one of either the last teams in or the first teams out. From a resume perspective, Butler boasts a fairly strong record in Q2/3/4 games but their lack of quality wins is a big issue. Thankfully, the Dawgs have a reasonably favorable schedule remaining for their situation. Of their final six games, four of them are quite winnable and they also will have road opportunities against Marquette and Villanova. There is work to be done but chances available. Additionally, with the way the quadrants are set up, Butler fans should start rooting for Georgetown as well. Current seed projection: No. 12 (Last Four In).

Creighton Bluejays (13-12, 4-8 BE)

NET: 59 | KPI: 56 | SOR: 65 | BPI: 47 | KP: 51 | Sag: 52

Q1: 2-9 | Q2: 3-3 | Q3: 4-0 | Q4: 3-0

Creighton would be in rough shape to reach the NCAA Tournament if Selection Sunday was this weekend. They have lost three consecutive games, all on the road, and have tumbled to a rough spot. With that said, though, they have a very favorable remaining schedule as KenPom projects them to finish 5-1 down the stretch. Quite honestly, though, they probably need to go 5-1 as well in order to remain in consideration. The Bluejays have definitely struggled as of late and it will be interesting to see how well they will recover. Current seed projection: OUT.

Georgetown Hoyas (15-10, 5-7 BE)

NET: 79 | KPI: 62 | SOR: 76 | BPI: 80 | KP: 86 | Sag: 73

Q1: 3-4 | Q2: 4-4 | Q3: 1-2 | Q4: 7-0

It is going to take a lot for Georgetown to get into the Big Dance but they already have the quality wins necessary to be in contention. Just by glancing at the quadrant records, in fact, you would think that the Hoyas would be in decent position for a bit. But with poor metrics across the board, that is simply not the case. In order for Georgetown to make the NCAA Tournament, they will need to catch fire down the stretch and move up the rankings. Do not count them out quite yet. Current seed projection: OUT.

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