Weekend Bubble Watch: Winners and Losers

With Selection Sunday just three weeks away, the bubble picture continues to fluctuate as teams jockey for at-large positioning.

Bracketbuster weekend proved to be anticlimactic with so few mid-major teams represented in the bubble picture. That could change with the beginning of conference tournaments.

Teams such as Siena, Utah St., and Davidson have dominated their respective conferences, but do they deserve an at-large spot if they get knocked out of their conference tournaments early?

It’s time to say goodbye to recent bubble teams Baylor and Georgetown. Both teams have fallen well below .500 in conference play and show no hope of a revival.

On the other hand it’s time to take a closer look at both Temple and Rhode Island. Both teams are still in the hunt for the Atlantic-10 championship. It would be hard to pass one of them up if they finish ahead of Xavier and Dayton in the A-10.

Here are the weekend winner and losers. As always, comments are welcome.

Note: Next edition will be published on Friday morning. All RPI and SOS numbers are taken from realtimerpi.com.

Winners

Maryland

I mentioned in last week's edition that the Terrapins had some opportunities to jump into the at-large discussion and they did just that by beating North Carolina. If Maryland can get three of their last four they should be in good shape.

UNLV

The Rebels recovered from a surprising loss to Wyoming to upend BYU for the second time this season. A big game at Utah looms this week for UNLV. A win would put them into a very good situation.

St. Mary’s

The Gaels picked up a huge win in their Bracketbuster game with Utah St. on Saturday. They should be able to win their last two and, with Patty Mills back, get to the finals of the WCC tournament. That should be enough for strong consideration for an at-large spot.

Other winners: Notre Dame, Oklahoma St., Miami (Fl), Kentucky, UAB, Kansas St., Texas A&M, S. Carolina, Temple, Creighton.

Losers

Michigan

All the talk about Michigan getting back into the bubble picture slipped away again with their loss to Iowa on Sunday. The Wolverines would have to win out and make some noise in the Big Ten tourney now.

Boston College

After losing to Miami (Fl) on Saturday, the Eagles have lost three of four. That is not the way you want to be ending your season when you’re a bubble team. This week's game against Florida St. could be very valuable for B.C.

San Diego St.

The Aztecs have only one top-50 win so this weekend's loss to New Mexico could be very damaging for their at-large hopes. They still have BYU and UNLV in their last four, so they can still do some damage in the Mountain West.

Other Losers: Providence, USC, Tennessee, Baylor, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, BYU