Busting Brackets
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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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EUGENE, OREGON – JANUARY 11: Coach Hurley of the Sun Devils reacts. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
EUGENE, OREGON – JANUARY 11: Coach Hurley of the Sun Devils reacts. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /

Lead-Pipe Locks: Oregon, Colorado, Arizona

Safely in the field: Stanford

Some perspiration: USC.

Double the deodorant: Arizona State.

Stanford Cardinal (16-5, 5-3 P12)

NET: 23 | KPI: 33 | SOR: 54 | BPI: 54 | KP: 36 | Sag: 54

Q1: 2-3 | Q2: 2-0 | Q3: 6-2 | Q4: 6-0

Stanford picked up a massive home win over Oregon during this past week to stabilize itself after a three-game losing streak. The Cardinal sit at 16-5 (5-3 P12) on the season and are on the bubble simply because their resume is average across the board. Stanford boasts a solid 4-3 record in Q1+2 games but the resume lacks quantity with regard to quality wins. Additionally, the Cardinal have suffered two Q3 losses and their team sheet metrics are mostly between 30-55. Stanford is in good shape to dance but can’t afford too many slip-ups. Hopefully the win over Oregon was a sign of things to come. Current Bracketology Status: No. 8 seed

USC Trojans (17-5, 6-3 P12)

NET: 45 | KPI: 26 | SOR: 28 | BPI: 64 | KP: 58 | Sag: 61

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

USC dropped a home game to Colorado during this past week. While not ideal, that is the kind of loss that teams can easily recover from. The issue, though, is that the Trojans were destroyed by 21 points and that had a significant impact on their efficiency rankings. USC still belongs in the field, possibly as a single-digit seed, but it is far from safe. This is especially true considering a difficult road trip to face Arizona and Arizona State looms next. It would be a quality trip if the Trojans are able to take one of those games. Current Bracketology Status: No. 10 seed

Arizona State Sun Devils (13-8, 4-4 P12)

NET: 58 | KPI: 43 | SOR: 49 | BPI: 72 | KP: 67 | Sag: 60

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

Arizona State has won three of its last four games to move into the bubble conversation. With teams like NC State and Virginia Tech falling off the map recently, that has opened the door for squads like the Sun Devils to rise into consideration and that is exactly what they have done. ASU is 13-8 (4-4 P12) on the season with solid, not great, metric rankings and no bad losses. They are just 5-8 in Q1+2 games, though, and that is a concern. The Sun Devils will look to defend their home court against UCLA and USC during this coming week. Win both and they might be on the right side of the cutline in mid-February. I’m serious. Current Bracketology Status: OUT

Lots of work to do: Washington.

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