Bracketology Bubble Watch: Could WCC get more bids than the ACC?

Big 12

Locks

Kansas Jayhawks

Rinse and repeat for the Jayhawks. They are one of the premier programs in the country and they are going to have no trouble making the NCAA tournament again this year. The Jayhawks have a top 10 NET, 7 Quad 1 wins, and zero bad losses. They have a deep roster and have one of the finalists for the Wooden Award this year in their guard Ochai Agbaji.

The Jayhawks are going to be a team discussed on the one-seed line especially if they can close the year out strong. Jayhawk fans never worry about their team playing in March, so this isn’t the year to start. Kansas is a good team and I have them as a legit national title favorite.

Baylor Bears

The defending National Champions are not as good as they were last year, but they are still a lock to get a top 8 seed in the NCAA tournament this year. They much like their conference rivals Kansas has a top 5 NET, seven quad 1 wins, and no bad losses. The Bears are turning into a perennial power and this year they don’t have a go-to star but they shoot it well from the outside, play good defense and do all of the little things that would win a game.

Baylor is going to overwhelm most everyone they play unless you get extremely hot and make a ton of threes. The Bears are safe and there is nothing that will push them to the bubble this season.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Mark Adams took over for Chris Beard this season and there was a moment where everyone wondered what would become of Texas Tech. The answer was nothing they would turn into the same dominant force they were under Chris Beard; except this time, they would have a better offense.

The Red Raiders have two of the best wins in the country as they have wins over both Kansas and Baylor, already have five quad 1 wins and a top 10 NET. They are going to be a lock for the tournament and a very dangerous team who has all the makings of a potential final four team.

Texas Longhorns

The preseason National Champion has not looked anywhere near the part this year, and even if the Longhorns are one of the most disappointing teams in the country, they are still a lock for the tournament. They have a top 20 NET, do not have a single loss outside of Quad 2, and have three quad 1 wins. That is pretty much lock status and I have said before that Texas is going to get a huge win before the season is out.

Texas has the best defense in the country running the patented “No middles” defense that has become the signature of their head coach Chris Beard. The Longhorns may not go far in the tournament, but they are a lock to get in.

Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State won two games last year and then hired TJ Otzelberger to be their coach. He lit a fire under the Cyclones, and they have played well enough and earned themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. At this point, Iowa State is playing for seeding.

The Cyclones have already played 11 quad 1 games and have won six of them. The Cyclones do not have a single loss in the Quad 3 or 4 tier and that is going to keep them as a higher seed. Pencil the Cyclones into your brackets, they have earned it.

On the Bubble

TCU Horned Frogs

The Big 12 is the best conference in the country this year, and honestly, every team in the league has a chance to make the tournament. Not all of them will but TCU is one of those teams who will likely make the NCAA tournament this year. The Horned Frogs like Iowa State were not picked to finish very high in the standings, but they have come together and won a lot of key games to place themselves on the bubble.

The Net is in the 40’s which is where you want it to be on the bubble. The Horned Frogs have four quad 1 wins and have already done enough to find themselves in the field on Selection Sunday. They are not quite a lock yet but a win over one of the top teams would help them out a lot.

Oklahoma Sooners

Porter Moser is a program builder and the Sooners are in good hands with Moser at the helm in year one and currently has his team on the right side of the bubble. The NET is in the high 40’s and with three quad 1 wins they should be safe especially considering the overall strength of this conference.

Bubble life is hard though so it would be to the benefit of the Sooners for them to figure out a way to beat one of the powers in the conference. They do already have a win over Iowa State but that isn’t going to be enough to find their way into the tournament. Two more quad 1 wins should get it done.

Work Still Left to Do

Kansas State Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers

The overall strength of the league is keeping the rest of these teams in the conversation. The league can reasonably get eight teams in the tournament but probably only gets seven. Each of these teams has multiple quad 1 wins and all are capable of winning a game against the top tier of the league. A conference has never had the entire league qualify and that likely won’t happen this year. Each team here is one big win away from being firmly on the bubble.