We’ve been doing our ACC Bubble watch each Sunday, but it’s probably time to take a look at the rest of the country’s bubble teams. What they do will directly affect in particular Miami’s and NC State’s bubble status. We are going to consider Maryland as well, because with an 8-8 finish to the ACC season and deep run (probably) the finals they have slimmest of at-large shots.
I’ve held all year that 11 ACC total wins (regular season + ACCT) should put an ACC team into the NCAAs. You see the ACC bubble team’s records below and RPI, so you know what they have to do starting this weekend.
#49 Miami (16-10) (7-6)
#60 NC State (18-10) (7-6)
#89 Maryland (16-11) (6-7)
Now if none of the ACC teams, reach said 11 wins, it’s time to do some rest of the country team watching. We are going to pull our other bubble teams from CBS’s Sportsline latest Bracketology.
Last four in: Arizona, Washington, Iowa St. and Texas
Last four out: Minnesota, Oregon, VCU and Miami.
Let’s look at the resumes.
#68 Arizona (20-9) (11-5)
Pros – Um somebody has to come from the Pac 12.
Cons – Best win is over #36 California, really?
Thoughts – This is a terribly weak resume. If their RPI is falls into the 70s they won’t get in.
#52 Washington (19-8) (12-3)
Pro – See Arizona, but with a sweep of the Wildcats.
Cons – Best win is over #49 Oregon, really? These Pac 12 teams sound awfully similar.
Thoughts – The Huskies will probably get into the Big Dance barring a big collapse. They don’t have any non-conference wins to speak of, but they did play Duke and Marquette tough.
#42 Iowa State (20-8) (10-5)
Pros – Wins over Kansas and Kansas St.
Cons – There is a loss to Drake
Thoughts – Cyclones look pretty good. I think they are safely in at this point.
#58 Texas (17-11) (7-8)
Pros – Win over #13 Temple
Cons – Under .500 in the Big 12.
Thoughts – NC State has a win over Texas, which would benefit the Wolfpack. I think Texas looks more like an NIT team.
#76 Minnesota (17-11) (5-10)
Pros – Win over Indiana
Cons – a 5-10 Big 10 conference record.
Thoughts – Gimme a break Minnesota shouldn’t be anywhere near the bubble right now.
#50 Oregon (19-8) (10-5)
Pros – 2-1 over Arizona and Washington
Cons – Not a single top 50 win.
Thoughts – After looking over the Pac 12’s teams, this league doesn’t deserve more than 3 bids. Sorry Arizona.
#70 VCU (24-6) (14-3)
Pros – 9-1 in their last 10 games. Last year’s NCAA run should help keep VCU on the radar screen.
Cons – Very ugly loss to #185 Georgia Tech, NC State has one of those too. An ACC team giving a bad loss to a Colonial Athletic team, how times have changed.
Thoughts – If they don’t win their conference tournament, VCU can’t lose more than 1 game.
How I’d rank these teams in terms of who’s in and who’s out for the final 4 spots with our bubble ACC teams included.
In
1. Iowa State
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. Miami
Out
5. NC State
6. Arizona
7. Texas
8. VCU
Not Even Close
9. Maryland
10. Minnesota
Leave a Reply