March Madness 2011: 10 Bubble Teams That No One Wants To Play

The Madness is upon us, ladies and gentlemen.

Conference tournaments are well underway. On Sunday evening, college basketball's best will be selected to compete in the most exciting sports tournament known to man: the NCAA Division-I Men's Basketball Championship.

This has been quite the unpredictable year in college basketball. As of right now, it is anyone's guess who might punch their tickets to Houston for this year's Final Four. But what we do know right now is that there are a number of bubble teams that have some work to do this week in conference tournament play if they want to hear their names called on Selection Sunday.

With that said, some of these teams on the bubble were not expected to be in this situation at the beginning of the season.

Teams like Michigan State, Illinois and Tennessee were all looked at as early-season locks to be dancing come March. These teams may have gone through some bumps and bruises throughout the regular season, but does anyone really want to run into these teams come tournament time?

Let's take an inside look at 10 bubble teams that no one wants to play come tournament time.

10. Saint Mary's

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LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 07: Mickey McConnell #32 of the Saint Mary's Gaels shoots in front of Marquise Carter #2 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the championship game of the Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena March 7

Saint Mary's is one of those bubble teams that plays in a smaller conference, but that could very well be wearing that glass slipper come tournament time.

Keep in mind that this is a team that beat St. John's early on in the season and, really, they haven't lost a game this season that they weren't supposed to.

The Gaels are led by a smooth-shooting guard by the name of Mickey McConnell. If you don't know who he is now, you might very well soon. When he is on, St. Mary's is not a team that you want to run into come tournament time.

9. USC

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LAWRENCE, KS - DECEMBER 18: Donte Smith #14 of the USC Trojans and Tyshawn Taylor #10 of the Kansas Jayhawks chase a loose ball during the game on December 18, 2010 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Trojans have some serious work to do in the Pac-10 tournament if they plan to book a ticket to the Big Dance next week.

USC has to get past Cal today and then win at least one or two more games in the Pac-10 tournament in order to have a decent shot at being a part of the madness.

But if they do get in, this is one of those wild-card type teams that can beat just about anybody if they are playing their best basketball. USC has taken down the likes of Texas, Tennessee, Arizona and UCLA during this season.

They are a quick bunch that can light up the scoreboard at any given moment. If they do get in, look for a potential upset alert with this squad.

8. Boston College

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GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 11: Biko Paris #5 and Cortney Dunn #55 of the Boston College Eagles chase Mike Scott #32 of the University of Virginia Cavaliers in their first round game in the 2010 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum on Ma

Boston College has fought and scrapped through the ACC this season, and in the midst of the conference tournament, the Eagles have a good shot at dancing in March.

The deal with Boston College is that they are one of the most hot-and-cold teams in the country. They are very inconsistent, but if you catch them on a good day, this team will be a very difficult out come tournament time.

Boston College doesn't have any wins that jump off the wall, but their 15-point blowout win over Virgina Tech last week showed just what this team is capable of doing when their backs are up against the wall.

7. Michigan

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LAWRENCE, KS - DECEMBER 19: Darius Morris #4 of the Mighigan Wolverines dribbles the ball during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks on December 19, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Michigan started the 2011 year off with a blowout loss by the football team in a bowl game against Mississippi State. Now, three months later, it's the basketball team that people are talking about and how this group could make some noise if they get into the NCAA tournament.

That just sounds downright weird.

But weird or not, it is the truth. The Wolverines currently sit at 19-12 and 9-9 in the Big Ten, which is the exact same record that their first-round opponent—Illinois—has as well. The winner of that game is likely in, while the loser will have to watch Selection Sunday in full-force suspense.

Michigan has clutch wins over Michigan State and Clemson this season. They have played a very challenging schedule and lost to Syracuse, Kansas, Ohio State and Wisconsin by a combined 13 points. With a little boost of confidence come tournament time, those close losses could very well transition into wins.

6. Florida State

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COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 23: Luke Loucks #3 of the Florida State Seminoles passes around Terrell Stoglin #12 of the Maryland Terrapins at the Comast Center on February 23, 2011 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The Seminoles are close to being a lock to get into this year's NCAA tournament. With a win in their opening matchup against Virginia Tech/Georgia Tech, they will punch their ticket without a doubt.

Florida State doesn't have a ton of signature wins this year—but they sure have one that shines the brightest. The Seminoles took down Duke back on Jan. 12, when the Blue Devils were the No. 1 ranked team in the country.

That right there should make you realize that this team can play some ball when it wants to. It's just a matter of if they are up for it or not.

5. Virginia Tech

Just like Florida State did, Virgina Tech is another one of those dangerous ACC teams that upset heavily-favored Duke this season.

The Hokies are one of the streakiest teams in all of college basketball. When they are on, they are tough to beat. Point in case, from Dec. 12 to Jan. 25, Virginia Tech won nine of 10 games, including victories over Florida State and Maryland.

But then, just over one month later, the Hokies closed out the regular season with back-to-back losses to Boston College and Clemson. If they had won those two games, they would have been off the bubble and already in the tournament.

It all depends on which Virgina Tech team shows up. If it's the good one, then no one should want to play this team next week.

4. Illinois

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CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 22: Demetri McCamey #32 of the Illinois Fighting Illini tries to get to the basket while being defended by Aaron Craft #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Assembly Hall on January 22, 2011 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State won 73-68.

Why would anyone in their right mind want to play a team that has already beaten the likes of North Carolina, Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Michigan State this season?

The Fighting Illini started off on a great note, winning 10 of their first 11 games, but then closed out the second half of the season on a sour note.

Either way, the Illini are a good team and they have some weapons on their roster with experience. Demetri McCamey is one of the most underrated players in the country and if he can get his shot falling, it might mean lights out for some teams come tournament time.

3. Marquette

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Dwight Buycks #23 and Jimmy Butler #33 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate late in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second round of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament presented by A

Marquette is fighting hard to become the 11th team from the Big East Conference that is going to get a bid to the tournament.

The bottom line here is that when you play in the Big East, you are already battle tested. Every game on every night is a challenge, so when it comes time for tournament play, there really shouldn't be anything for this team to be afraid of.

The Golden Eagles have played well in their past two games and if they can get by Louisville tonight, this would not be an ideal team to have to match up against.

2. Tennessee

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PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 11: Scotty Hopson #32 of the Tennessee Volunteers shoots a technical against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the SEC/BIG EAST Invitational at Consol Energy Center on December 11, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justi

Some people are saying that Tennessee is already in the tournament, win or lose in their opening round game against Arkansas.

With an 18-13 record, it really shouldn't matter what kind of reputation you have to fulfill. The Vols need to top Arkansas in order to secure a spot in the field of 68.

Either way, this is a dangerous team that has been to the tournament and done some damage in the past. They are led by Scottie Hopson, who has as much experience as he does talent. He is one of the premier, elite athletes in college basketball today and he should be an NBA player in the near future.

Bruce Pearl's team has already topped Pittsburgh, Villanova and Vanderbilt this season. Come tournament time, if they're playing well, this team can hang with anyone.

1. Michigan State

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ST. LOUIS - MARCH 28: Durrell Summers #15 of the Michigan State Spartans cuts a piece of the net after the win over the Tennessee Volunteers during the midwest regional final of the 2010 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Edward Jones Dome on March

ESPN.com reporter Pat Forde said it best: "Only a fool bets against Tom Izzo in March."

He could not have been more spot-on with this statement. Having been to six Final Fours in the past 12 years, why would anyone want to play Michigan State come tournament time?

We know that the Spartans have struggled this season and really haven't looked at all like the team that many people expected to see. But Michigan State struggled at times last year as well. They entered the tournament as a No. 5 seed and exited the tournament as a Final Four team.

If Michigan State gets past Iowa, they should be in.

Chances are that Izzo's club will receive a No. 11 or 12 seed and be put in one of those classic No. 12 versus No. 5 upset games in the first round. If I'm filling out a bracket this year, I'm not making the mistake of betting against Tom Izzo and the Spartans...that's for sure.