Bracketology 2024: Bubble Watch Updates of key teams in early March
By Joey Loose
New Mexico (20-8) (NET: 28)
2-5 (Q1), 3-1 (Q2), 6-1 (Q3), 9-1 (Q4)
New Mexico was in a great position, but a recent downward turn have made them far less of a certainty for March Madness. Still reeling off a dreadful loss against Air Force, the Lobos lost by ten at Boise State in their only game this past week.
Wins against San Diego State and at Nevada represent the Quad 1 success for the Lobos. They actually swept the Wolf Pack and have nice home wins over Colorado State and Utah State that currently sit at just Quad 2. There wasn’t much to love from their nonconference slate.
The aforementioned loss to Air Force came at home and was Quad 4. Prior to that, the Lobos had already been swept by UNLV, with a Quad 2 loss on the road and a Quad 3 loss at home. These results aren’t great, but at least that’s it for the bad losses.
If New Mexico is going to reach the NCAA Tournament then they need to make a good impression in these final weeks. A great opportunity awaits on Saturday at Utah State, but they might need to get the job done in the MWC Tournament.
Northwestern (20-9) (NET: 53)
5-5 (Q1), 5-3 (Q2), 3-0 (Q3), 7-1 (Q4)
Hoping to shore things up in these final weeks of the season, Northwestern had a tough home loss to Iowa over the weekend that certainly didn’t help, though the Wildcats had won five of six games prior to that defeat.
The notable win came against Purdue back in December, but they have other Quad 1 victories against Dayton, Michigan State, and Illinois. Additionally, their win at Maryland this past Wednesday also currently sits as a Quad 1 win and was one of their best road performances of the season.
What significantly hinders Northwestern’s resume was that deplorable Quad 4 home loss to Chicago State in the middle of December. That performance is and was inexcusable but it alone should not keep the Wildcats out of these kinds of conversations.
We can break things down and balance out the Purdue win with the Chicago State loss, but Northwestern wants to further solidify their position. A really tough outing at Michigan State comes on Wednesday before finishing the regular season against Minnesota. A win in East Lansing might punch their ticket.