NCAA Tournament 2015: Bubble Teams That Will Miss out on March Madness

Selection Sunday is perhaps the most agonizingly anxious day of the year for college basketball players and coaches—especially those who are firmly on the bubble and no longer have any control over their fate.

The selection committee will have the difficult task of analyzing resumes and determining who is deserving of a spot in the NCAA tournament. Some teams will experience the thrill of a lifetime, while others will inevitably be left bitter, disappointed and searching for answers.

Based on their overall body of work in comparison to their competition for the final spots in the Big Dance, here is a rundown of bubble teams that will fall just short of reaching their goal.

UCLA

UCLA is a perennial tournament team with a storied history of success, but none of that will help the Bruins crack the field of 68 in the 2015 NCAA tournament.

While UCLA had a chance to play its way in by beating Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals, the Bruins fell just short in a 70-64 loss. Following that defeat, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports pointed out that the Bruins would be in for a tough couple of days in terms of waiting and hoping for a tournament berth:

Perhaps the biggest thing working against UCLA is the fact that it didn't fare well against top teams. It suffered double-digit losses to Oklahoma, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Kentucky, Utah and Arizona. The Bruins should be applauded for stacking their schedule, but they simply weren't competitive enough.

Even so, Doug Gottlieb of CBS Sports believes UCLA is a tournament-worthy team in terms of talent and when compared to the teams it is vying for a spot against:

"

I think #UCLA is better than many bubble teams, fear they won’t get in—not having Tony Parker on Oregon trip was a killer

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) March 14, 2015"

The Bruins conceivably have the firepower needed to hang with top opposition, as they boast five players who average double figures in scoring per game. With a record of 20-13, though, UCLA will be a hard sell for March Madness.

Although the NCAA tournament may not feel right without UCLA, all signs point to the Bruins and head coach Steve Alford being left out in the cold.

Boise State

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Boise State entered the Mountain West tournament in good shape for a March Madness berth. The Broncos were the regular-season champions in the MWC, and they were nationally ranked in the Top 25 as well. After falling to Wyoming in the semifinals, though, it is fair to question their legitimacy.

While Boise State's 25-8 record is certainly impressive, the quality wins simply aren't there, according to Jason McIntyre of TheBigLead.com:

The Broncos' biggest test of the season came against Wisconsin, and they lost that game by 24 points. They also dropped decisions to Loyola (Illinois), Utah State and Fresno State while needing overtime to get past the likes of Montana, Houston and UNLV.

Per Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk, Boise State's track record certainly leaves something to be desired:

Despite that, Broncos head coach Leon Rice has no doubt that his team deserves to be one of 68 teams vying for a national title, according to Dave Southorn of the Idaho Statesman.

"We're the Mountain West champions," Rice said. "We're the No. 1 seed in the tournament. I think we've got a great resume. We went out on the road and played a lot of games, too. I think we need to be rewarded for that."

What Rice considers to be a strong body of work may not be viewed the same way by the selection committee.

Losing to Wyoming in the semis was bad enough, but the fact that the Cowboys stole a bid by winning the tournament hurts even more. Wyoming may very well have stolen Boise State's spot in the tourney, and that will undoubtedly be a tough pill for players, coaches and fans to swallow.

Tulsa

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After going 14-4 in the American Athletic Conference, Tulsa looked like a team that could potentially run the table, win the tournament and qualify for March Madness. After losing to Connecticut in the semifinals, though, it is difficult to find a spot for the Golden Hurricane as an at-large selection.

Following a 47-42 defeat to the Huskies that saw Tulsa allow a 14-1 run late in the contest, ESPN.com's Andy Katz was down on the Golden Hurricane's chances:

That opinion is understandable when considering the fact that Tulsa doesn't have a tournament-worthy resume. It lost handily to tourney teams such as Oklahoma State, Wichita State, Oklahoma and SMU while suffering some extremely bad losses to Oral Roberts and Division II Southeast Oklahoma State.

The Golden Hurricane also rank a disappointing 72nd in Ken Pomeroy's analytics-based ratings system, which puts them well outside the tournament field.

Tulsa deserves a lot of credit for bouncing back from a poor start to the season and performing well in conference play, but that doesn't mean that it should be considered for a ticket to the Big Dance.

The Golden Hurricane simply didn't get the job done against quality opponents, and that is what will ultimately prevent them from playing for all the marbles.

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