NCAA Tournament Bracket: 15 Bubble Teams Likely to Get Shut out

Selection Sunday is at the end of this week, and for bubble teams it is desperation time. Especially for the teams that still have work to do, this week is do or die.

Every year there are teams that feel disrespected by getting left on the chopping block, and this year will be no exception. There will be teams that get cut that have legitimate gripes about getting left out.

Here we will be going through the last 15 teams that will be cut out of the tournament. Sure some of these teams could play themselves into the tournament, but in all likelihood, short of winning their conference tournaments, they will be out in the cold.

Which of these 15 do you think can sneak past the selection committee? Let us know.

Alabama Crimson Tide (20-10, 12-4)

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NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 10: Tony Mitchell #5 of the Alabama Crimson Tide dunks against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Memorial Gym on February 10, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

RPI: 76

Strength of Schedule: 125

Quality Wins: Kentucky, at Tennessee, Georgia

Bad Losses: St. Peters, Iowa, Providence, Arkansas

Why They Will Be Out: The strength of schedule is weak and the losses are bad. In fact, the Crimson Tide have as many losses to teams outside the top-100 RPI rankings wins over teams inside the top-100.

Baylor Bears (18-12, 7-9)

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HOUSTON - MARCH 28: LaceDarius Dunn #24 of the Baylor Bears encourages the crowd against the Duke Blue Devils during the south regional final of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Reliant Stadium on March 28, 2010 in Houston, Texas. Duke defeate

RPI: 84

Strength of Schedule: 39

Quality Wins: Sweep of Texas A&M

Bad Losses: Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech

Why They Will Be Out: After a great season last year and a ton of hype coming into this year, Baylor has been extremely disappointing, and unless they win the Big 12 tournament, they will likely be watching the tournament from home this year. The Bears have also lost nine of their last 15, and that really doesn't bode well for their chances.

Colorado Buffalos (19-12, 8-8)

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KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 10: Alec Burks #10 of the Colorado Buffaloes moves the ball against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half during the first round game of the 2010 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament at the Sprint Center on March

RPI: 76

Strength of Schedule: 73

Quality Wins: Texas, Sweep of Kansas State, Missouri

Bad Losses: San Francisco, Oklahoma, Iowa State

Why They Will Be Out: The Buffs just seem to be unable to build on their quality wins. A four-game losing streak also has not helped out the Buffs. Colorado is going to have to do some serious work in the Big 12 tournament. If they can add at least another quality win, then I could see them jumping in, but right now I say they are out.

Colorado State Rams (19-11, 9-7)

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LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 19: Head coach Tim Miles of the Colorado State Rams talks to Greg Smith #44 during their 78-63 victory over the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center January 19, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

RPI: 46

Strength of Schedule: 34

Quality Wins: at UNLV, New Mexico

Bad Losses: Sam Houston State, Hampton

Why They Will Be Out: The Rams are just 1-5 against the the top teams in the Mountain West including being swept by both BYU and SDSU. If they were going to get into the tournament I would think they would have needed to beat at least one of those teams once.

Georgia Bulldogs (20-10, 9-7)

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LEXINGTON, KY - JANUARY 29: Travis Leslie #1 of the Georgia Bulldogs shoots the ball while defended by Josh Harrellson #55 and DeAndre Liggins #34 of the Kentucky Wildcats during the SEC game against at Rupp Arena on January 29, 2011 in Lexington, Kentu

RPI: 39

Strength of Schedule: 36

Quality Wins: UAB, at Tennessee, Kentucky

Bad Losses: Alabama, Vanderbilt

Why They Will Be Out: The losses for Georgia aren't that bad, but they also have just one win over a ranked opponent this season. I think the Bulldogs still have a chance of playing their way in, but they are nothing more than filler at this point.

Marquette Golden Eagles (18-13, 9-9)

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KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 23: Darius Johnson-Odom #1 of the Marquette Golden Eagles passes around Elias Harris #20 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the CBE Classic consolation game on November 23, 2010 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. (Phot

RPI: 68

Strength of Schedule: 31

Quality Wins: Notre Dame, Syracuse, UConn

Bad Losses: Seton Hall

Why They Will Be Out: The best thing about Marquette is that they are battle-tested playing in the Big East. Of their 13 losses, eight of them are to ranked opponents. The bad news is the fact that they have lost 13 games, including five of their last 12.

Memphis Tigers (22-9, 10-6)

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NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 07: Will Barton #5 of the Memphis Tigers drives to the basket against Elijah Johnson #15 of the Kansas Jayhawks during their game at the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Nick

RPI: 38

Strength of Schedule: 55

Quality Wins: Swept UAB, at Gonzaga

Bad Losses: SMU, ECU, Rice

Why They Will Be Out: The quality wins aren't that great and the bad losses are really bad for Memphis. I know they have a good record, which could be their saving grace, but I think Memphis needs to do some work in the Conference USA tournament to have a chance.

Michigan Wolverines (19-12, 9-9)

RPI: 56

Strength of Schedule: 18

Quality Wins: Swept Michigan State, Penn State, at Clemson

Bad Losses: Indiana, Northwestern, Illinois

Why They Will Be Out: Michigan has played a tough schedule, no doubt about that, but who have they beaten? Their quality wins are all against teams that are on the bubble and probably won't make it into the tournament.

Michigan State Spartans (17-13, 9-9)

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COLUMBUS, OH - FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Draymond Green #23 while playing the Ohio State Buckeyes on February 15, 2011 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

RPI: 50

Strength of Schedule: 9

Quality Wins: Washington, Wisconsin

Bad Losses: Iowa, swept by Michigan, Penn State

Why They Will Be Out: What has happened in East Lansing this year? Weren't the Spartans a top-5 team coming into this season? Now, the Spartans are likely going to watching the tournament from home this year. Short of winning the Big Ten tournament, I don't think the Spartans are in.

Missouri State Bears (25-8, 15-3)

RPI: 42

Strength of Schedule: 127

Quality Wins: Swept Wichita State

Bad Losses: Indiana State, Evansville, Northern Iowa, Tulsa

Why They Will Be Out: After winning the MVC regular season crown, the Bears lost to Indiana State for the second time this season and missed out on the automatic bid for the tournament. The real thing that kills Missouri State is the strength of schedule. They won't be in.  

Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-11, 7-9)

RPI: 78

Strength of Schedule: 65

Quality Wins: Texas, Missouri, Texas A&M, Colorado

Bad Losses: Davidson, Texas Tech, Iowa State

Why They Will Be Out:  The good wins are pretty dang good, but the bad losses are really bad. Davidson hasn't been relevant since Steph Curry left for the NBA and Texas Tech and Iowa State were the Big 12 doormats. Not enough quality for Nebraska to make it in.

USC Trojans (18-13, 10-8)

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LAWRENCE, KS - DECEMBER 18: Maurice Jones #10 of the USC Trojans walks off the court during a timeout in the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on December 18, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

RPI: 69

Strength of Schedule: 42

Quality Wins: Texas, Tennessee, UCLA, Arizona, Washington

Bad Losses: Rider, Bradley, TCU, swept by Oregon, Oregon State

Why They Will Be Out: The fact that USC is even being mentioned as a bubble team is really a testament to them. Coming into this season, I thought they would be the Pac-10 doormat but they proved me wrong. I still don't think they did enough to get into the tournament after some really atrocious losses.

Virginia Commonwealth Rams (23-10, 12-6)

RPI: 48

Strength of Schedule: 91

Quality Wins: George Mason, Old Dominion, UCLA

Bad Losses: Georgia State, Northeastern, South Florida

Why They Will Be Out: The quality wins are okay, not great and the bad losses are very bad. Throw in a poor strength of schedule and that means the Rams will be watching the tournament from home this year.

Virginia Tech Hokies (19-10, 9-7)

RPI: 63

Strength of Schedule: 87

Quality Wins: Duke, Florida State

Bad Losses: Swept by Virginia, at Georgia Tech

Why They Will Be Out: Yes, the Hokies did beat Duke in an impressive upset, but that single win is not enough to get the Hokies into the big dance. In fact since the win over Duke, Tech has lost two in a row.

Washington State Cougars (19-11, 9-9)

RPI: 75

Strength of Schedule: 86

Quality Wins: Swept Washington, Baylor, Gonzaga

Bad Losses: Butler, USC, California, Oregon, Arizona State

Why They Will Be Out: When Wazzu suspended Klay Thompson for Saturday's game against UCLA, they tore up their ticket for the tournament. Their only chance to really be in good shape for the tournament was to beat the Bruins; however they ended up losing in overtime after leading by 15 at one point. Unless the Cougars catch fire in the Pac-10 tournament they won't be getting in.