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Bracketology Bubble Watch: Providence rising, Rutgers in trouble

By Lukas Harkins

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 25: A reflection of the stadium can be seen in the bubble as it bursts ahead 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: A reflection of the stadium can be seen in the bubble as it bursts ahead 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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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – JANUARY 20: Johnson of the Wolfpack. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – JANUARY 20: Johnson of the Wolfpack. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

Lead-Pipe Locks: Duke, Florida State, Louisville

Safely in the field: Virginia.

Some perspiration: None.

Double the deodorant: NC State, Notre Dame

Virginia Cavaliers (19-7, NET: 52)

Virginia is currently in the midst of a four-game winning streak and has also won seven of its last eight games. This has helped propel the Cavaliers not only into the field but into relatively safe territory as a projected single-digit seed. Tomas Woldetensae has been absolutely tremendous over the last few weeks from beyond the arc and his floor spacing has allowed UVA to make a leap. The Cavaliers rank in the Top 55 in every metric with most residing in the
Top 35. They also have strong quadrant records and a closing schedule that includes home meetings with Duke and Louisville to potentially move up (losses to either wouldn’t drop UVA). Current Bracketology Placement: No. 9 seed

NC State Wolfpack (17-11, NET: 57)

It seemed as though NC State was back in the projected field after defeating Duke at home last week. Then, though, the Wolfpack followed that performance up with back-to-back losses to fall once again on the wrong side of the cutline. While dropping a game to Florida State (even at home) is nothing to be worried about, falling on the road to North Carolina in the next game was a killer. NC State continues to hang around as a bubble team but it can’t seem to get over the hump. The Wolfpack finish the season with two relatively easy home games against Pittsburgh and Wake Forest with a road meeting at Duke sandwiched in the middle. Simply taking two would keep them in the bubble conversation. Current Bracketology Placement: OUT.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-10, NET: 56)

Notre Dame has won six of its last eight games and sits on the outside-looking-in at the projected field. While the Fighting Irish definitely have a lot of work to do given the fact that they are just 3-9 in Q1+2 games with a Q3 loss. With that said, though, their closing schedule consists of matchups with Boston College (away), Wake Forest (away), Florida State (home), and Virginia Tech (home). There is a legitimate path to finishing 3-1 or 4-0 there and that would quickly make Notre Dame relevant in bracketology discussions. Current Bracketology Placement: OUT.

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