Bracketology 2023: Complete Bubble Watch before final weekend of regular season
By Joey Loose
Oral Roberts: 27-4 (18-0 in Summit) NET: 42
Yes, a Summit League team is legitimately on the bubble, though the Golden Eagles could certainly just take care of business in their conference tournament and not have to wait and see. While Oral Roberts has shown that they’re a great team this season, completing a clean sweep through conference play, their resume is sorely lacking compared to the other bubble teams.
Oral Roberts’s four losses were their four Quad 1 opportunities; road losses to Saint Mary’s, Houston, Utah State, and New Mexico, four teams that could conceivably all be in the Big Dance. Their only Quad 2 win was against Liberty back in December and they’ve accumulated much of their success against weak competition. There’s no doubt that Oral Roberts is a great team that has won a lot of games and has a lot of experience, but they will lose every blind comparison to the other bubble teams.
Thankfully, they can just win the Summit League Tournament and get into the Tournament, though it’s no easy task when the pressure is at an all-time high. The Golden Eagles could certainly be upset by South Dakota State or another Summit League team, and that would be pretty dire for their Tournament chances. We’re not saying it’s impossible, but adding what’s likely a Quad 3 (or worse) loss to a resume lacking a great win is bad news in Tulsa.