March Madness 2012: Northwestern and Bubble Teams That Don't Deserve to Dance

Following Northwestern's loss to Minnesota on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, it became clear that the Wildcats—despite a decent season—aren't deserving of a coveted at-large bid to this year's Big Dance.

Granted, the Big Ten is strong, but Northwestern couldn't post even a .500 record in conference play, finishing 8-11, 18-13 overall. Furthermore, the Wildcats are just 1-10 against top 50 teams.

On top of that, there's the fact that at least six other teams from the Big Ten are likely to get a bid to the tournament, which is the second-highest total among all conferences behind the Big East (10 teams).

Like so many other contenders, Northwestern got off to a good start this season, going 10-1 through mid-December. Then, the trouble, and the mediocrity, hit. From then on, the Wildcats posted an 8-12 record, the bulk of which came during conference play.

The highlight of the season came on Jan. 14, when Northwestern topped Michigan State at home, 81-74. But is that one high point enough to justify a ticket to the Dance, especially considering the lows against Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana and, most recently, Minnesota?

Most likely, a bid to the NIT will be, and should be, in the cards for Northwestern.

Here's a look at a couple of the other bubble teams that aren't likely to be dancing in the coming weeks:

NC State

The ACC is currently slated to get four teams into the tournament, and the Wolfpack sits in fifth place in the conference. Their stock started to sink quickly in mid-February after four straight losses to Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Clemson, but who knows?

After taking down Boston College and Virginia in the first two rounds of the ACC Tournament, the Pack are still playing, and a win against No. 4 North Carolina would put them into the finals—and possibly back in contention for a bid. (And, of course, if they win it all on Sunday, it's a done deal—which could spell doom for other teams.)

Tennessee

Much like NC State, the Volunteers are good, but just not good enough. They're in fourth place in the SEC, but the selection committee may not be able to look past a very rough start to the season, in which they went 3-6 and endured losses to Oakland, Austin Peay and Charleston. They scored big midseason wins against Florida and Connecticut, but a first-round overtime loss to Ole Miss in the SEC tournament could do them in.