NCAA Bracket 2012: 5 Bubble Teams That No One Wants to Play

The NCAA tournament selection committee has finished their primary work for the 2011/12 season. Aside from determining the four top seeds, and every seed thereafter, they need to compile four competitive regions...but not until they've placed 37 at-large teams into the field.

Years prior have seen some contentious picks for the field of 64. Moving to 68 teams helped but just placed a few more teams that were further down the pecking order in the discussion.

However, the 2012 selections are difficult to take issue with. Yes, there are those who contend Iona didn't do enough to earn a spot. Others feel the third-place team in the West Coast Conference (BYU) didn't do enough to earn its ticket to the Big Dance and that the Drexel Dragons should have been included.

Then there are a few teams that didn't make the cut but most likely realize they had an opportunity to earn their way in and failed to seize it.

Even Lorenzo Romar, head coach of the Washington Huskies, acknowledged on ESPN Radio that they had their opportunities to earn a spot into the tournament and failed to respond. It is refreshing to hear a coach take ownership of the team. 

What follows are five teams...or perhaps just four...that need not make any excuses.

Washington Huskies

This has been a disappointing year of basketball in the Pac-12's inaugural season. The Washington Huskies managed to win the regular season title, but bow-wowed out in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament to a middling Oregon State team.

Their regular season included close losses to Marquette and Duke, and a shocking blowout loss to South Dakota State.

Still, the Huskies finished with a 21-10 record, and no regular season champion from one of the six power conferences has ever missed the tournament. Surely the committee will overlook their lack of quality wins and give the Pac-12 a token at-large bid or two...even though the entire conference was 0-12 against Top 25 teams.

The Huskies tend to lose focus at times, but they are also very tough and athletic. This is a big reason why they are such a good rebounding team, even though their poor shoot...I'm sorry. What? The Huskies didn't get in? 

Maybe the NIT will call.

Gonzaga Bulldogs and West Virginia Mountaineers

The NCAA tournament selection committee doesn't seem to like the Gonzaga Bulldogs. It could just be bad luck, or maybe they follow the major players that don't want to face the Zags.

I was relieved to see I'm not the only one that is picking up on some very questionable seed placements for Mark Few's West Coast Conference club:

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The most egregious bracket item may be Gonzaga, yet again. The Zags were put in for a 7-10 matchup against West Virginia in Pittsburgh. In 2008, Gonzaga was in the same 7-10 matchup against Davidson in Raleigh. The Zags lost the game.

Andy Katz, ESPN.com

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To be fair, the seven-seed is a solid placement for the WCC's second-place team. Gonzaga had quality wins over NCAA tournament opponents Notre Dame (73-53) and a full-strength Xavier team (72-65).

The Bulldogs also lost a heart-breaker to one-seed Michigan State, 74-67, in part to a 34-point performance by Draymond Green.

Gonzaga has shown they can play with the best teams in the nation, which makes it unfortunate that they'll have to play in what could feel like a home game for the Mountaineers. The drive to Pitt's campus is under 75 miles. 

West Virginia is a talented team in a tough conference and will walk in with some confidence, despite an overtime loss to U Conn in the Big East tournament. They had a quality wins over Georgetown and Cincinnati earlier in the year.

This game could come down to Kevin Jones and Deniz Kilicli battling Gonzaga's Robert Sacre and Elias Harris in the paint. Whichever team wins those matchups will should have the honor of facing Ohio State in the second round.

North Carolina State

Perhaps I'm taking too much liberty with calling North Carolina State a "bubble" team, but they are a 10-seed...and if Gonzaga can be on this list so can the Wolfpack.

N.C. State certainly had an up and down conference season, but I'd contend that had more to do with the scheduling than the Wolfpack getting cold or hot. After a 7-4 start to ACC play, they dropped the next four games.

However, the first three of those losses were against the top three teams in the conference. The fourth was a road loss to Clemson.

Speaking of road losses, this is the primary concern with N.C. State. Their "best" win of the season in a hostile environment was against Miami.

The Wolfpack lost in Stanford in their only non-conference road game. Their schedule over the first two months featured 11 home games and three neutral-site contests. 

However, similar to Gonzaga, the Wolfpack is a balanced team and has five players averaging double-digit scoring. They are battle-tested from a difficult regular season schedule and face a San Diego State team that is vulnerable in the first round.

The Sweet 16 is a stretch, though, as they have Georgetown looming before they can get there.

Their lack or road toughness will keep N.C. State from advancing far on my bracket, but don't expect tournament teams to look forward to playing them.

Connecticut Huskies

It was just 12 months ago that a 21-9 team went on a five-game winning streak to finish the year and capture the Big East Conference championship. They followed that with six more wins to take the NCAA crown for the 2010/11 season.

Could the Connecticut Huskies take a similar run in 2012?

The eighth-seed in the South Region, Iowa State, will be the first team to test their mettle. This makes for a rough seed for both teams, as Kentucky will be waiting for the winner.

Iowa State and Kentucky both have reasons to be concerned, though. UConn has faced second-ranked Syracuse twice over the past two weeks and just five points total separated the two clubs. The Huskies play a demanding schedule and will be ready for all comers.

Perhaps it is too much to expect another big run again in 2012, but if the Butler Bulldogs can make back-to-back Final Fours, Connecticut can't be ruled out. 

For your printable bracket for the 2012 NCAA tournament, click here.