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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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PISCATAWAY, NJ – JANUARY 09: Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes gets up. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ – JANUARY 09: Wesson #34 of the Ohio State Buckeyes gets up. (Photo by Rich Schultz/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 (16-8, 6-7 B10)

NET: 36 | KPI: 36 | SOR: 31 | BPI: 32 | KP: 37 | Sag: 31

Q1: 4-5 | Q2: 3-2 | Q3: 4-1 | Q4: 5-0 

Ohio State suffered a tough home loss to Illinois in their most recent contest but thankfully they were already pretty safely in the field. After winning four of their previous five games, the Buckeyes had moved into strong position and they are still deserving a single-digit seed for the time being. With that said, though, Ohio State has a murderous closing schedule. Aside from both of their matchups with Northwestern, every game remaining will come against a team ranked in the KenPom top-30. The Buckeyes should still be able to hold onto a bid, though. Current projected seed: No. 8.

Indiana Hoosiers (13-11, 4-9 B10)

NET: 50 | KPI: 52 | SOR: 54 | BPI: 42 | KP: 45 | Sag: 38

Q1: 4-8 | Q2: 2-3 | Q3: 1-0 | Q4: 6-0

*Cue Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin”* Indiana is seriously plummeting at this point in time. Sure, they are still hanging onto an NCAA Tournament bid in many bracketology fields but it is hard to imagine that that will last for much longer. The Hoosiers have dropped nine of their last 10 games and there is seemingly no sign of a turnaround. This is especially true when you consider they still have a daunting schedule ahead. It is not time to count IU out of the tournament yet (for obvious reasons) but KenPom has them favored in just one remaining game out of seven. Danger time. Current projected seed: No. 11 (First Four Byes).

Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-9, 6-8 B10)

NET: 58 | KPI: 44 | SOR: 38 | BPI: 70 | KP: 50 | Sag: 51

Q1: 3-7 | Q2: 3-2 | Q3: 5-0 | Q4: 5-0

I have been skeptical of Minnesota’s resume throughout this season but they still belong in most projected fields at this time. Their metric ratings are fairly solid, except for the BPI, and their quadrant records line up with just about everyone else on the bubble. And while they really only have one really strong win (at Wisconsin), that is better than most teams. The Gophers, though, are definitely trending in the wrong direction give their current four-game losing streak. They are not sliding as much as Indiana but they are also only favored in one of their remaining six games by KenPom. Current projected seed: No. 12 (First Four Byes).

Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-11, 4-10 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 finally got a win! After dropping seven consecutive games and falling out of most bracketology fields, the Cornhuskers responded in a big way this week by defending their home court against Minnesota. This was a much-needed victory for Tim Miles and Co. as they find themselves on the wrong side of the cutline at this point in time. With a couple of winnable games coming up (vs. Northwestern, at Penn State), we might see them climb back into the field before a very tough closing stretch. Current projected seed: OUT.

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