March Madness 2012: Bubble Teams Who Will Be Exposed Early

Bubble teams aren’t safe yet.

Sure, they made March Madness. But now they have to prove their worth. If a bubble team pops easily early, it simply shows that they never truly belonged—that they’re phonies.

Here are the bubble teams that’ll be exposed in the 2012 NCAA tournament.

For your printable NCAA Bracket, click here.

5. Texas

The Longhorns are a difficult team to take seriously in the NCAA tournament. In the past three seasons, Texas hasn’t made it out of the opening weekend alive once. And its 2011-2012 team is worse than any of the previous trio.

Now, J’Covan Brown, Myck Kabongo and company are still talented, but they got a dealt a brutal matchup with a hot Cincinnati squad.

4. Virginia

Virginia didn’t exactly finish the season on a hot streak. The Cavs lost three out of their last four, and their lone win was just by three points in overtime to a mediocre Maryland team. Against a high-scoring Florida squad that lost to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament by just three points, the Cavaliers will struggle mightily.

3. West Virginia

WVU found its way into the tournament thanks to a little Big East bias. 

West Virginia lost eight out of its last 12 games, and in one of their four Ws, the Mountaineers needed overtime to beat Providence. They only won 19 games over the course of the season.  And just one was against a ranked ball club.

Gonzaga will take a hatchet to the Mountaineers.

2. Southern Miss

Now, I’m not 100 percent sure. I would need a list in front of me, but Southern Miss is potentially the worst nine-seed ever. 

Their last 10 games were highlighted by five losses and two wins in which the Golden Eagles needed overtime to walk away victorious from. Their other three triumphs came by a total of 13 points and remember—these aren’t good basketball teams that they’re playing. Kansas State is licking its chops.

1. BYU

BYU definitely didn’t earn its way into the Big Dance. The Cougars lost to every single ranked opponent they faced off against. In a 10-day span, Gonzaga wrecked them twice by a total of 30 points.

If the Cougars even make it past Iona, they’ll get slaughtered by Marquette.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels