Bracketology 2024: Latest Bubble Watch of key teams in mid-February

Washington State (18-6) (NET: 40)
4-3 (Q1), 4-2 (Q2), 3-1 (Q3), 7-0 (Q4)

It’s hard to complain when you’re over .500 against Quad 1 teams, with the first such success coming against Boise State in late December. The highlight for Washington State is a home win over Arizona in mid-January while other Quad 1 wins have been added at Washington and Oregon very recently.

The Quad 3 defeat came to Santa Clara in a neutral-site game in Phoenix, though that was nearly two months ago at this point. The Cougars dropped a Quad 2 home game to Oregon early in league play, though they did avenge that this past weekend.

Washington State has won 5 straight games and eight of their last nine, putting themselves in a desirable position. They’ve beaten Arizona, have five road wins in league play, and are seeing their metrics get into great shape. They’ll be at Arizona in a week for what’ll likely be their last Quad 1 opportunity; the Cougars need to just survive a slew of winnable games, mostly at home.

Xavier (13-11) (NET: 52)
2-8 (Q1), 4-1 (Q2), 2-2 (Q3), 5-0 (Q4)

The resume was built early with a nice game against Saint Mary’s, though it took until mid-January for the Musketeers to add a second Quad 1 win, with a victory at Providence. They did beat rival Cincinnati as well as Butler and Villanova at home, though those all remain Quad 2 victories.

A painful stretch right after Thanksgiving might have doomed this resume, as Xavier lost at home to Oakland and Delaware, sandwiching a close loss to Houston that could’ve been huge for this team. What’s fortunate is that all of their Big East losses have come in Quad 1 games, though it includes a complete blowout at Connecticut back in late January.

The Musketeers have won a few nice games in Big East play but clearly have work to do. They have won three of their last four games, but this record and these metrics aren’t going to get it done, especially if Xavier loses a few more games in the coming weeks. Wednesdays’ game at Seton Hall would be a great first step to getting back on track.

With a month of games left on the schedule, which of these bubble teams will get the necessary wins to secure their spots in the NCAA Tournament? On the other side, who will the Selection Committee disregard in the coming weeks?