The Bubble
Last four in
Speaking of quiet teams, a couple of them (in my opinion), UCF and Wake Forest, will face off in Dayton, with the winner getting a shot at No. 6 Michigan. With the depth of the Big 12, UCF doesn’t garner much attention, but continuing to win the games they should bolster their resume. An argument could be made that the 15-5 Demon Deacons are the second-best team in the ACC, but Duke’s season and North Carolina’s freefall have kept them out of the limelight. The second game in Dayton sees Texas take on Ohio State, with the winner facing another one of those ACC teams pushed out of the spotlight, No. 6 seed Louisville.
First four out
The first four teams out of the field are all in a bit of a freefall. The aforementioned North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday needed overtime to defeat Boston College. That came on the heels of back-to-back losses to Stanford and Wake Forest. In the Big Ten, the Indiana Hoosiers have lost three of their last four entering Sunday’s tilt with Maryland, and their only win in that stretch was a 77-76 win over Ohio State. Conference mate Nebraska is 2-6 in conference play and is looking to end a five-game skid at Wisconsin on Sunday. The final team in this group is the Arizona State Sun Devils who are also 2-6 in conference play and have won just one game since beating Colorado on January 4th.
Next four out
The next four teams out are headlined by a team that is trending upwards, the Xavier Musketeers. They may just be 5-5 in the Big East, but they have won four of their last five, including wins over Marquette and UConn. While a two-bid Missouri Valley is likely a longshot, the Drake Bulldogs are still very much under consideration. The Bulldogs are 18-2, sit just one game behind Bradley in the Valley standings, and already hold a seven-point road win over the Braves. The USC Trojans sit a half-game ahead of Iowa in the Big Ten entering Sunday, and the Trojans won the two teams only meeting earlier this month. They have a big stretch coming up with games against UCLA, Michigan State, and Purdue in their next four.
The Iowa Hawkeyes are the last team in this group because they have gone just 3-4 since beating UNH to end conference play. If the Hawkeyes want to move closer to the bubble wins over Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin in their next three games would certainly help.