As the calendar turns to March, all eyes are on college basketball. Whether you have been watching since November or just watched your first game this weekend, it is a time when the sports world comes together for the month-long spectacle.
Unfortunately for some teams however, they are fighting for their tournament lives on the infamous bubble. The bubble, used by all bracketologists, but in this case, it will be ESPNs. The worldwide leader in sports has eight teams on the right side of the bubble, along with eight teams on the wrong side of the bubble.
Here are teams on both sides of this bubble as conference championship week looms.
Big East: Seton Hall
The lone bubble team in the Big East has fallen outside of the “Next Four Out” category after Saturday’s loss to UConn. Not all hope is lost for the Pirates as Friday night’s matchup against 18 ranked St. John’s gives them a chance to boost their resume before the Big East Tournament next week.
Shaheen Holloway’s team will most likely be a 4 seed in the Big East Tournament. If they can get past their first opponent, they will have 1 seed St. John’s or UConn to deal with in the semifinals. A win over one of these teams will not only help their resume but send them to the Big East Championship finals where anything can happen.
Seton Hall will rely on the veteran leadership of AJ Staton-McCray, who made the NCAA tournament a few years ago with Samford and Adam “Budd” Clark who led Merrimack to an NEC regular season championship last season.
Big Ten: Ohio State
In a tremendous year for the Big Ten, Ohio State’s tournament hopes are hanging on for dear life. A massive win over eighth ranked Purdue on Sunday, OSU has moved into the “Last Four In” according to ESPN.
All the Buckeyes losses are to NCAA tournament teams, besides an early season loss to Pittsburgh and a midseason loss to Washington. Wins over Wisconsin, USC and West Virginia should go a long way going into Selection Sunday.
Bruce Thornton is trying to will his team to March Madness. The senior who has played all four years at Ohio State is averaging 20 points per game, including scoring 27 in a February win against Wisconsin. Will he go his whole collegiate career without making the tournament, or will the Buckeyes hold on to their spot?
SEC: Texas
Year one under Sean Miller has the Texas Longhorns on the doorstep of an NCAA tournament appearance. Sitting at 18-11 with a bunch of quality wins and losses to tournament teams, the Longhorns could make noise in March. In an SEC that is almost as good as last year when they got 14 teams into the tournament, Texas has a 9-7 record in SEC play. With wins over Missouri, Texas A&M, Alabama and then undefeated Vanderbilt, Texas can clinch their spot with a win over number 20 ranked Arkansas on March 4, or a few wins in the SEC tournament.
Dailyn Swain followed Miller from Xavier to Texas and the move paid off for the junior. The 6-foot-8 guard leads the team in scoring (17.7 PPG), assists (3.1 APG) and field goal percentage (55.4%).
ACC: California
Saturday’s loss to Pittsburgh sent the Golden Bears to the “Next Four Out”. Sitting in eighth place in an above-average ACC, Cal must beat Georgia Tech and Wake Forest to even have a chance for an at-large bid. The Golden Bears will most likely face an NCAA tournament team in round two of the ACC tournament, an opportunity that they must take advantage of.
Dai Dai Ames is California’s leading scorer with 16.4 points per game. The junior had 19 at home against UNC in Cal’s biggest win of the season. If Ames can provide the offense while Lee Dort (7.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game) and Justin Pippen (1.8 steals per game) can anchor the defense, the Golden Bears have a chance against the cream of the crop in the ACC.
Big 12: TCU
Tuesday night’s win on the road against Texas Tech may have clinched the Horned Frogs a spot in the NCAA tournament. Xavier Edmonds had a double-double while Micah Robinson and Jayden Pierre both pitched in with double figures.
But when looking at the rest of their resume, this is where early season victories come into play. Along with a 10-7 conference record, TCU beat defending National Champion Florida and tournament lock Wisconsin before Big 12 play began. They have also picked up some great Big 12 wins, including against then fifth ranked Iowa State and twice beating a strong Oklahoma State squad.
The Big 12 is a top conference in college basketball, and a 10-7 record is nothing to scoff at. The Horned Frogs were sitting in “Last Four Byes” before taking care of Texas Tech. They should hear their name called as a ninth or 10th seed on Selection Sunday.