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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Xavier, Tulsa surging into consideration

By Lukas Harkins

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: The reflection of the stadium can be seen in a bubble ahead of the FA Cup Fourth Round match between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion at The London Stadium on January 25, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: The reflection of the stadium can be seen in a bubble ahead of the FA Cup Fourth Round match between West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion at The London Stadium on January 25, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 21: Coach Smart reacts. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 21: Coach Smart reacts. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Lead-Pipe Locks: Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia.

Safely in the field: None.

Some perspiration: Texas Tech.

Double the deodorant: Oklahoma, Texas

Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-8, 5-4 B12)

NET: 29 | KPI: 62 | SOR: 59 | BPI: 23 | KP: 22 | Sag: 27

Q1: 2-8 | Q2: 2-0 | Q3: 1-0 | Q4: 8-0

I don’t love Texas Tech’s resume. While the Red Raiders are yet to suffer a bad loss and rank well in efficiency metrics, their poor resume metrics and record against quality opposition drive down their potential seed. Texas Tech is just 2-8 in Q1 games this season and that just shows that the team hasn’t been very good against other tournament-caliber teams. The Red Raiders have two superb wins and certainly look the part on the court (hence their high efficiency ratings) of being a strong team but results matter and they have eight losses. Texas Tech should safely be an NCAA Tournament team but I am hesitant to move the team up several seed lines because of their lack of quantity with regard to quality wins. TTU should pick up more semi-quality wins (like its most recent one over Oklahoma) down the closing stretch of the year to rise in bracketology, though. The team is better than the resume – there’s no doubt about that. Current Bracketology Status: No. 9 seed

Oklahoma Sooners (14-8, 4-5 B12)

NET: 49 | KPI: 36 | SOR: 35 | BPI: 63 | KP: 49 | Sag: 47

Q1: 2-6 | Q2: 5-1 | Q3: 4-0 | Q4: 3-0

Oklahoma has essentially alternated wins and losses for the past month and has therefore roughly stayed the same with regard to bracketology projections. The Sooners still have a better resume than most give them credit for and deserve to sit among the last few teams in the field. Their next four games, though, will be absolutely crucial in deciding if they will remain on the bubble or rise into a more sturdy spot in the field. Oklahoma will face West Virginia (home), Iowa State (home), Kansas (away), Baylor (home) over the next two weeks. Winning 2-3 of those games would put Oklahoma in a stronger position than it is now. Current Bracketology Status: No. 11 seed

Texas Longhorns (14-8, 4-5 B12)

NET: 60 | KPI: 53 | SOR: 44 | BPI: 68 | KP: 62 | Sag: 53

Q1: 2-7 | Q2: 2-1 | Q3: 4-0 | Q4: 6-0

Texas has won two of its last three games to crawl into the bubble picture. It sits at 14-8 (4-5 B12) on the season and is yet to take a bad loss. While the Longhorns’ inability to consistently beat high-quality opponents has been their downfall so far, they are still within striking range of an at-large bid if they are able to secure one or two signature wins. Texas will have two of those opportunities approaching in the coming week as the team will face Texas Tech and Baylor, both at home, within three days. Massive week for Texas. Current Bracketology Status: OUT

Lots of work to do: TCU.

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