10 NCAA Tournament Teams from Last Year Already 'On the Bubble' in 2014-15

Do you think it's too early to be thinking about brackets? Hah, think again!

We're just about a month into the college basketball season, and already we've seen plenty of last March's powerhouses take big hits to their hopes of making it back to the dance. 

While it's far too early for any team to have solidified (or completely ruined) its hopes at dancing in 2015, there is a host of teams that are on high alert after shaky losses or unimpressive wins over so-called "cupcake" teams.

After all, the bubble does not discriminate—just ask last year's champs!

Here's a list of 10 teams that made the NCAA tournament last year that need to be especially careful going forward, or else they might be very disappointed come Selection Sunday in 2015.

Florida

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Last Season (2013-14): 36-3, No. 1 seed, lost in the Final Four

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: The typically almighty Florida Gators are off to a shockingly rough start this year, going only 4-4 in the first month. That puts them solidly on the bubble.

So, what happened to the team that went undefeated in the SEC last year? Well, as reported by the Associated Press (via ESPN), coach Billy Donovan thinks that his Gators were a bit cocky entering the season:

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'I'm not so sure we came in with a high level of humility into the season without playing any games,' Donovan said. 'It's always easy to have an inflated opinion of yourself before you actually compete. Because our schedule's been really challenging, we got a dose of the truth and we been forced to have to deal and confront the truth.'

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It's important to note that Florida looked much better in its most recent game against Yale—destroying the Ivy Leaguers 85-47—and the team is getting its health back. There's still time for the Gators to turn their season around, but they better get started now.

Dayton

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Last Season (2013-14): 26-11, No. 11 seed, lost in the Elite Eight

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: Dayton is 7-1 so far this season, which doesn't seem alarming at all. However, the team hasn't beaten any team of significance, and it's only loss has come to an unimpressive Connecticut squad. It's hard to tell what the future will bring, especially since the Atlantic-10 is very unpredictable this season.

In order to get off of the bubble, the Flyers not only have to continue to take care of business against lesser opponents, but they also have to dig deep and find another gear as the road ahead gets tougher. 

Dayton just squeezed into the tournament last year and made the most of its bid by upsetting Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford. For the Flyers to be safely in the dance, they're going to have to recapture some of that mojo earlier than March.

Xavier

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Last Season (2013-14): 21-13, No. 12 seed, lost in the first round

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: Xavier was lucky to get into the tournament last season, as demonstrated by the fact that it played (and lost) in the First Four. A March victory over then top-10 Creighton tipped the scales in Xavier's favor.

This year, the Musketeers are off to a 7-2 start (6-0 at home), and they're 11th in the nation in scoring. Unfortunately for them, as the season goes on they will be forced to go on the road often, and they will have to play against ranked Big East teams such as Villanova, Butler and St. John's.

The team's strength of schedule will give it a push in the selection committee's eyes, but that won't help if the Musketeers can't manage to get to at least 20 wins and notch a notable upset or two.

BYU

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Last Season (2013-14): 23-12, No. 10 seed, lost in the second round to Oregon

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: Hear me out, Cougar fans. I know that BYU has had an impressive start to the season, going 7-2 and leading the country in both points and assists. I know that both of its losses have come in OT. I'm impressed.

But BYU is in the West Coast Conference, and that's not a conference known for perennially having multiple bids to the dance. Gonzaga is currently ranked No. 9 in the country, and it's going to take quite a season for BYU to challenge that team for the conference title and win the automatic bid. A tough nonconference schedule won't help.

I do expect BYU to make it to the field of 64. (I wouldn't even be shocked to see them become a ranked team if the offense keeps this up.) After all, last year the Cougars lost 12 games and still squeaked in, and they're a better team this season. But there's not much margin for error—BYU is going to have to win the close games if it wants to feel comfortable in March.

Connecticut

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Last Season (2013-14): 32-8, No. 7 seed, National Champions

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: The Huskies have started the season 3-3 and are currently in the midst of a three-game losing streak. That's right—it's a possibility that last years national champions won't even make it to the dance this season.

"We've got to find some toughness in that locker room somewhere, because I'm not a loser and the guys in there in that locker room are not losers," the Associated Press reported that UConn coach Kevin Ollie said after the team's loss to Yale (via ESPN).

UConn should be able to pull itself together as the season goes on—beyond the game against Duke later in December, all of the games on its schedule are winnable—but right now, the Huskies are firmly on the bubble.

Stanford

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Last Season (2013-14): 23-13, No. 10 seed, lost in Sweet 16

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: Currently, the Cardinal are 4-2 on the year, which is respectable considering their tough nonconference schedule. But with a loaded Pac-12, respectable isn't going to cut it. 

Stanford is going to need some marquee wins if it is going to stand out in this Pac. Luckily, there will be many opportunities for the team to do just that as it faces off against Texas, Washington, Arizona and Utah this season.

In order to get hot in March again, Johnny Dawkins and his guys are going to have to get some upsets and, most importantly, hold onto the ball—in their most recent loss to DePaul, Stanford turned the ball over 22 times.

UCLA

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Last Season (2013-14): 28-9, No. 4 seed, lost in Sweet 16

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: The Bruins are off to a solid 7-2 start, but those victories have come against a host of cupcake teams.

Led by coach Steve Alford and his son Bryce (who is averaging 17.7 points per game), UCLA was outclassed by the only seeded team it's faced this season, losing 78-56 to UNC.

As DCBruins wrote on SBNation's Bruins Nation after the team beat the University of San Diego, in order for UCLA to have a successful season, it can't solely rely on its outside shooters—the Bruins have to have an inside presence. 

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UCLA's Bigs have to win the battles inside for UCLA to win games this year. That is all there is to it. Inside does not mean more points, just the bigs have to outplay the other's team.

So while the media stories are going to talk about Bryce's 22 points or show Norman's spectacular dunks, the game was won by the big guys in the second half.  

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UCLA's schedule gets extremely tough from here, and barring an unexpectedly great season like the one it had last year, the team will be hanging out in the bubble all season long.

Creighton

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Last Season (2013-14): 27-8, No. 3 seed, lost in the third round

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: With the departure of superstar coach's son Doug McDermott, many expected the Creighton Bluejays to be a complete afterthought this season. However, with an 8-2 start, they're proving that they might be in the conversation for a spot in the dance after all.

But in the Big East, it won't be easy. Creighton didn't only lose the younger McDermott, it also lost three other starters from the team that made it to the Big East Championship game last season. 

In order to catch the selection committee's attention even the slightest bit, Creighton will have to make some noise in the Big East. With a host of unproven starters, bench players such as James Milliken are going to need to step up big time to make that happen. After all, it takes a village to make up for the absence of a guy like McDermott.

VCU

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Last Season (2013-14): 26-9, No. 5 seed, lost in the second round

Why They're 'On the Bubble' Early: There were high expectations for the VCU Rams this year, with the team starting the season ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 poll. But in the past five weeks, the Rams have toppled to the realm of the unranked after a 5-3 start to the year.

Early losses to Old Dominion, Villanova and UVA have proven that perhaps the Rams aren't what we thought they were. 

The Atlantic-10 isn't filled with powerhouses, so VCU has a chance to impress if it handles conference opponents, but it's clear that the road back to the dance will be tougher than most Rams fans anticipated.

Michigan

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Last Season (2013-14): 28-9, No. 2 seed, lost in Elite Eight

Why They're "On the Bubble" Early: Just one week ago, it would have seemed ludicrous to put Michigan anywhere near the bubble. Now, it feels almost generous.

In a span of four days from December 6-9, the Wolverines lost back-to-back games at home to the likes of the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Eastern Michigan University. Against the latter, Michigan only scored 42 points!

One upset can be considered a fluke, but two embarrassing losses in a row this early in the season should be setting off emergency sirens in the Wolverines locker room. As Eamonn Brennan of ESPN wrote:

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Already, these two losses have jeopardized Michigan's entire at-large résumé; never underestimate the RPI-killing effect of results such as these or the importance of nonconference performance in the hive mind of the selection committee.

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This week will be a stain on Michigan's portfolio all season—the team is going to need some great conference play to make up for it.