NCAA Bracket 2017: Predicting Top Bubble Teams on Selection Sunday

There is little tension for top-rated programs like Kansas, Villanova, Gonzaga and North Carolina as they wait to hear where they will be sent for their first-round games and throughout the run of the NCAA tournament as they advance through the bracket.

They will almost certainly receive the four No. 1 seeds, but for schools like Syracuse, Wake Forest, Kansas State and USC, the Selection Sunday announcements will be some of the most anxiety-filled moments of the year.

Those teams are among the last four in the tournament, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi, and they are hoping for an invitation to the tournament.

They are clearly on the bubble, and so are several other teams who will be hoping to hear their names called Sunday.

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Syracuse is a perennial college basketball power, and head coach Jim Boeheim is used to seeing his team get into the tournament and go quite a distance. 

The Orange made the Final Four last year before losing to eventual runner-up North Carolina, and they have made the tournament in 13 of the previous 14 seasons.

But Syracuse (18-4, 10-8 in the ACC) has not played with much consistency this year. While the Orange have beaten six top-50 teams this season, all of those victories have been at home.

Therein lies the problem. The Orange's inability to win on the road has become an abysmal problem as Syracuse was just 2-11 when it had to travel this year.

That's likely to be a factor that will not allow the committee to look favorably at Boeheim's team.

Playing in the ACC has not been overly kind to Syracuse, and if the Orange should miss out on the tournament this year, they may wish to themselves that they were back in the Big East.

Prediction: Syracuse does not make the NCAA tournament.

Their former Big East rival Providence (20-12, 10-8 in the Big East) is also on the bubble, but the Friars are on the good side of it.

Providence lost its Big East tournament game to Creighton, but the Friars won their last six regular-season games to help make their case. They had a few bad losses to teams like DePaul and St. John's, but junior forward Rodney Bullock averages 15.7 points per game, and he also does a solid job on the boards.

Bullock and teammate Emmitt Holt give the Friars the toughness and determination to win a game or two if they happen to get into the tournament.

Prediction: Providence makes the NCAA tournament. 

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Michigan State (19-14, 10-8 in the Big Ten) is usually a good bet to become a hard team to beat in the tournament. The Spartans are close to the bubble this year, as this young team has flashed its talent from time to time, but it has not played with much consistency.

Head coach Tom Izzo has seen the Spartans earn an NCAA invitation for 19 years, and they appear to have a good chance to make it 20, but there are no guarantees.

If it does make it, one of the reasons is likely the team's willingness to play the best opponents it can find. Michigan State played opponents like Arizona, Kentucky, Duke and Wichita State, and that leaves the program battle-tested.

Prediction: Michigan State makes the NCAA tournament. 

Wake Forest (19-13, 9-9 in the ACC) ended the regular season by playing its best basketball of the year. The Demon Deacons defeated Louisville and Virginia Tech to close the regular season. Those two wins allowed the Deacs to breathe easier, but losing to the Hokies in the ACC tournament will make the NCAA tournament selection show a nervous time.

If Wake Forest does make it into the dance, look for forward John Collins to lead the way. In addition to scoring 18.9 points per game, he connects on 62.0 percent of his shots from the floor.

Prediction: Wake Forest makes the NCAA tournament. 

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Kansas State (20-13, 8-10 in the Big 12) may have a hard time convincing the tournament committee to issue the team an invitation. A losing conference record is never a good way to curry favor, and the Wildcats were just too inconsistent this season.

Additionally, the team from the Little Apple of Manhattan let its Big 12 tournament semifinal game against West Virginia slip away. After leading by nine points at halftime and holding onto their advantage on the scoreboard throughout the second half, the Wildcats dropped a 51-50 decision.

Prediction: Kansas State does not make the NCAA tournament.

USC (24-9, 10-8) in the Big 12 seems like it should be in the tournament with its solid overall record and a winning mark in the Pac-12. However, the Trojans suffered a late-season four-game losing streak in which three of those losses were by double-digits and one was by 32 points (to arch rival UCLA).

The Trojans have struggled on defense throughout the season, and they give up 73.2 points per game, which ranks 211th in the nation.

Prediction: USC makes the NCAA tournament.