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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Seton Hall, Utah State sitting right on the edge

By Lukas Harkins

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Bubbles are seen prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Swansea City at London Stadium on September 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Bubbles are seen prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Swansea City at London Stadium on September 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 21: Dort of the ASU is double-teamed. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 21: Dort of the ASU is double-teamed. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images) /

Others to consider

Lead-pipe lock: Nevada, Buffalo.

Firmly in the field: None.

Some perspiration: None.

Double the deodorant: Utah State, Belmont, Toledo.

Utah State Aggies (23-6, 13-3 MWC)

NET: 34 | KPI: 51 | SOR: 48 | BPI: 47 | KP: 38 | Sag: 50

Q1: 1-2 | Q2: 2-3 | Q3: 7-1 | Q4: 12-0

Utah State should be in every projected NCAA Tournament field right now, in my opinion. Yes, I completely understand the fact that they have a really weak 3-5 record in Q1/2 games with a bad loss on their resume as well but they have posted a great season and deserve to be rewarded…for now. As has been the case for some time, the Aggies’ at-large hopes rely a significant amount on their home matchup with Nevada this weekend. If Utah State wins that matchup, they will likely dance. If they do not, the probably will not. Current Bracketology Status: No. 12 (Last Four In).

Belmont Bruins (23-4, 14-2 OVC)

NET: 45 | KPI: 56 | SOR: 39 | BPI: 46 | KP: 50 | Sag: 55

Q1: 2-1 | Q2: 3-0 | Q3: 2-3 | Q4: 16-0

I am all-in on the potential for two bids from the Ohio Valley. In order for this to happen, though, Belmont needs to assert itself as an at-large team while someone else (most likely Murray State) takes the tournament title. But even though Belmont has a great record, their at-large candidacy is being held back by three bad losses. They should, though, be able to overcome that by winning all of their games up until the OVC final. If that happens, I find it hard to believe that they will not have a better resume than most teams sitting on the cutline. Power conference bubble teams…you better hope that the Bruins win that OVC tournament. Current Bracketology Status: No. 12 seed (as an auto-bid).

Toledo Rockets (22-6, 10-5 MAC)

NET: 62 | KPI: 49 | SOR: 58 | BPI: 61 | KP: 58 | Sag: 72

Q1: 0-2 | Q2: 4-0 | Q3: 9-4 | Q4: 8-0

Toledo might seem like a bit of a longshot to reach the NCAA Tournament but they are deserving of consideration. The Rockets have played extremely well throughout this season and it will be difficult to leave out a team with only six-losses and their collection of metric rankings. The only way that Toledo snags an at-large bid, though, is by reaching the MAC final and losing to Buffalo. Now it is time to go make that happen. Current Bracketology Status: Next Four Out.

dark. Next. Bracketology Projected Field of 68

That concludes this edition of the 2019 Bubble Watch. I hope that you enjoyed and if you have a team that you think should have been included, let me know on Twitter: @hardwiredsports. Looking forward to talking college hoops with all of you in the coming months.

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