Bracketology: 10 key storylines for Championship Week in 2019

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Mamadi Diakite #25 and the Virginia Cavaliers bench cheers in the second half during a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts with Joey Hauser #22 of the Marquette Golden Eagles after scoring against the DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on February 12, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

10. Teams on a slide to end the regular season

Bubble teams aren’t the only ones under pressure to win games in the conference tournaments. There are several programs who are struggling at the moment and it’s costing them on the seed lines.

Iowa has lost five of their last six games, including blowing a giant late lead against Nebraska. They’re still safe for the NCAA Tournament but went from a 4-5 seed to that dreaded 8-9 spot.

Both Marquette and Villanova were dominating the Big East the first half of league play but after the bubble teams beaten them each a few times, they’ve each fallen down a few seed lines. St. John’s themselves are on the “Last 4 In” line after losing four out of five, including multiple times to Xavier. They’re in a must-win situation in the opening round game versus DePaul and will have to probably beat Marquette just to get that bid.

Next. Potential Cinderella stories in the Big Dance. dark

Iowa State was in position to grab a top-4 protected seed over a month ago before dropping six of their last eight games. Now as the five seed in the Big 12 Tournament and a projected seven seed in Bracketology, the Cyclones have been sliding as well to the 8-9 line. The good news is that they can certainly win the conference tournament and vault themselves back up a couple of lines as well.

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