Bracketology 2024: Bubble Watch Updates of key teams in early March

Providence (18-11) (NET: 62)
5-8 (Q1), 2-3 (Q2), 1-0 (Q3), 10-0 (Q4)

It was a bad week for Providence’s hopes as the Friars lost a pair of games, losing by 22 points at Marquette before a double-digit home loss to Villanova, a fellow bubble team. They had won four of five before this week, but it’s the wrong time of year to drop winnable home games.

Having five Quad 1 wins is impressive ammunition. Providence beat Wisconsin and Marquette at home before New Year’s and has picked up additional wins over Creighton and against both Seton Hall and Xavier on the road.

There’s nothing too miserable in the loss column, aside from already having 11 of them. It’s been over a month and a half since a home loss to Xavier; the most recent of the three Quad 2 losses, and the Friars have been playing better basketball in general over the last month.

Unfortunately, that NET figure took a few steps back after this week’s two losses. Winning at Georgetown on Tuesday is mandatory for the Friars but then they have a significant challenge against Connecticut to finish off the regular season.

Seton Hall (18-11) (NET: 68)
5-7 (Q1), 3-3 (Q2), 2-1 (Q3), 8-0 (Q4)

Seton Hall lost twice this past week but you can hardly blame them when you see the schedule. Sure, they weren’t within 20 points in either game, but they lost on the road against Creighton and Connecticut, who just might be the two best teams in the Big East right now.

Let’s focus back on the good, because the Pirates got a remarkable win over Connecticut back in late December. This was the first in a line of Quad 1 wins which also include Marquette and most recently against St. John’s on the road.

The Quad 3 loss was at home against Rutgers, while they suffered a tough loss in San Diego to USC a few weeks prior to that. Generally, Seton Hall has played better ball since that sloppy start to the season, picking up just a single Quad 2 loss in Big East play.

After that rough road trip, the Pirates will be back at home this week and really need a pair of wins to reverse their fortunes. They’ll host Villanova and DePaul, hoping for revenge against a Wildcats squad that crushed them by 26 points less than a month ago.