March Madness 2016: Schedule and Bracket Predictions for Bubble Teams

An old adage such as "the calm before the storm" exists for a reason, probably in large part because of how quiet the days before the madness begins truly are.

March Madness, second only to the Super Bowl in terms of importance, begins on March 15. Until then, the bubble teams will sort themselves out and compare resumes, ESPN's RPI rankings and strength of schedules to exhaustion until the bracket reveal.

Said bracket reveal is almost as exciting as the tournament itself, because the world of hypotheticals then kicks in, and folks can look at potential matchups down the road, building the hype level of the madness.

Let's get a head start on the process by providing a look at the tournament schedule and whether some of the biggest names on the bubble will make the cut.

2016 NCAA Tournament Schedule

Date	Round	Location(s)
March 15, 16	First Four	UD Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
March 17, 19	First/Second Rounds	Dunkin Donuts Center (Providence, R.I.); Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines, Iowa); PNC Arena (Raleigh, N.C.); Pepsi Center (Denver)
March 18, 20	First/Second Rounds	Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Scottrade Center (St. Louis); Chesapeake Energy Arena (Oklahoma City); Spokane Arena (Spokane, Wash.)
March 24, 26	West Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
March 24, 26	South Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
March 25, 27	Midwest Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	United Center (Chicago)
March 25, 27	East Regional (Sweet 16, Elite Eight)	Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
April 2	Final Four (Semifinals)	NRG Stadium (Houston)
April 4	Championship Game	NRG Stadium (Houston)

Bubble Team Predictions

Ohio State

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

The Ohio State Buckeyes, 19-11 and fifth in the Big Ten, deserve a ton of credit.

Really, most of the credit goes to head coach Thad Matta for getting his young Buckeyes to this point. The Buckeyes have put on quite the run in a deep conference, going as far as winning five of their last six, including a 68-64 win against then-No. 8 Iowa and the loss to then-No. 6 Michigan State.

As BTNStatsGuys noted, the Buckeyes entered precarious territory by grabbing win No. 11 in the conference by upsetting Iowa:

The Buckeyes might be the first since 1985, though, because they sit 76th in ESPN's RPI rankings and were one of the last eight out in Joe Lunardi's bracketology predictions.

Alas, the win against Iowa—without Jae'Sean Tate, by the way—has the Buckeyes in a position to perhaps secure a bid if they can overcome Michigan State in a rematch on Saturday. Some might wish the Buckeyes good luck in that endeavor, but remember that this is the same young, explosive team that took down Kentucky back in December.

Ultimately, Ohio State has a 1-6 record against the RPI top 25 and a 3-9 mark against the top 100. Barring a shocking win against Michigan State, the Buckeyes figure to hit the NIT. Running roughshod on the NIT isn't ideal, but it's one heck of a way to prime the young Buckeyes for a serious run next year.

Prediction: Out

Florida

Richard Shiro/Associated Press

What to do about Florida?

The Gators sit on a 17-13 record and are ninth in the SEC, but they have a rather respectable 54th slot in RPI, perhaps in large part thanks to a strength of schedule that ranks sixth in the nation.

The problem is how the Gators have decided to finish the season. Head coach Mike White hasn't been able to rally his guys for when it matters most, and the team has wound up losing four in a row, including a loss to 18-12 LSU. 

Perhaps what's especially concerning with the loss to LSU is the 96 points allowed, a huge tally for a team that has touted one of the better defenses the nation has to offer. Defense has been the staple of the Gators this year and made them one of the interesting possible bracket-busters, but with that suddenly absent, the team has to hope it can turn things around in Missouri on Saturday to salvage a bid.

According to CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm, only six teams with 14 losses have received at-large bids. While none of Florida's losses have been terrible, 14 losses and a 2-6 mark against the RPI top 25 suggest a trip to the NIT.

This looks like it will turn out to be one of the more interesting cases of "what could have been" at the bracket reveal. Florida's defense could contain almost any offense, but instead of perhaps pulling off an upset, the team will have to use the failures down the stretch as a learning experience for next season.

Prediction: Out

Gonzaga 

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Gonzaga is a team that has reached the tournament every year since 1999, a prestige carried by few and a status that might be enough to get the Bulldogs into the dance despite iffy numbers. 

Prestige-based bids happen, like it or not. Gonzaga has a 22-7 record but sits 62nd in RPI with the 129th-hardest schedule in the land. More condemning? An 0-5 mark against the RPI top 50 and a paltry 7-7 mark against the top 150.

Anything less than a trip to the WCC title game screams being left out of the tournament. But there's going to be some pressure to have Gonzaga in there regardless, especially with high-profile notables such as Kyle Wiltjer (20.8 points per game) and Domantas Sabonis (17.2) leading the way.

"It's a pride thing," Wiltjer said after a win against BYU, according to ESPN.com. "Gonzaga has taken control of the WCC the last whatever years. For us seniors, it's just a matter of a pride thing."

Pride could help. Though the numbers don't look great in total, Gonzaga has turned it on as of late, winning nine of 11 down the stretch and holding 11 consecutive opponents to fewer than 70 points. 

Given the team's current form, a legitimate chance to spice up the resume in a tournament and the good-old prestige factor, expect one of the most consistent tournament mainstays to go dancing yet again.

Prediction: In

Stats and information courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.