NCAA Tournament 2012: Bubble Teams That Will Get Snubbed

It doesn't matter how many teams participate in the NCAA tournament because there will always be a couple squads that feel the system did them wrong. This season is shaping up to be no different, with plenty of teams battling for the final at-large bids.

Let's examine which programs will be crying foul after the bracket is released on Selection Sunday.

Northwestern

Northwestern appeared destined to have a March Madness breakthrough, but a late slump will likely doom the Wildcats. They lost five of their last eight games, including a heartbreaker against Minnesota in the conference tournament, to finish 18-13.

The Wildcats only picked up one win against a ranked opponent. So even though they didn't suffer any really bad losses like some other bubble teams, the lack of success against elite teams when given the chance is going to hurt them.

Missing the big dance would be a disappointing finish to a season with so much promise, but Northwestern can't claim it didn't have an opportunity. The Wildcats just didn't take advantage.

Mississippi State

There was a point around Christmas when Mississippi State was 12-1 and seemed like it would coast into the tournament. The Bulldogs had two wins against ranked opponents, and their only loss was against an underrated Akron squad.

But then things fell apart. A narrow home loss to Baylor seemed to shake the team's confidence and they never seemed to fully recover. The Bulldogs' five-game February losing streak, coupled with a first-round exit from the SEC tourney, doomed their hopes.

Mississippi State had the pieces to make some heads turn if they would have made the tournament, but the Bulldogs would need a selection committee miracle for that to happen now.

Miami (FL)

The Hurricanes were the toughest team to put on this list. They have a win over Duke on their résumé, which will stand out when the final few picks are being made, but an average conference record and lack of other marquee wins will hurt them.

Miami went 4-5 down the stretch. It dropped games against Maryland and fellow bubble team N.C. State during that run. That will make it tough for the committee to choose the Hurricanes over teams playing considerably better right now.

Just like the other teams on the list, Miami will only have itself to blame if the bracket doesn't include them. The Hurricanes had enough chances to boost their stock and failed.