Bubble Watch

AS OF GAMES PRIOR TO FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Bubble Breakdown and Comparison (My picks in italics)

Welcome back to the Bubble Watch. As we stated last week, it will look at every team in the at-large mix hoping to grab one of the last spots for the NCAA Tournament. As the season enters its final three and a half weeks, it is time for teams on the fence to distinguish themselves from each other with impressive stretch runs. This week had bubble games galore, including about 15-20 contests last night that could have had an impact on the at-large picture. With the middle of conferences becoming increasingly crowded, it is going to be an interesting final few weeks. Of course there is still plenty of basketball left to be played. According to the numbers, there are 16 bids still up for grabs, with 31 teams vying for them:

Locks: 20


Automatic bids from the other conferences: 23

43 Locks Overall

•       ACC (1): Duke
  
•       Big East (5): Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown, West Virginia, Pittsburgh
  
•       Big Ten (4): Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State
  
•       Big 12 (3): Kansas, Kansas State, Texas
  
•       SEC (3): Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee
  
•       Atlantic-10 (1): Temple
  
•       Mountain West (2): BYU, New Mexico
  
•       West Coast (1): Gonzaga

One-Bid Conferences (23): America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Conference-USA, Horizon, Ivy, MAC, MAAC, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Pac-10, Southern, Southland, Summit, Sun Belt, SWAC, WAC

Teams that need to keep winning to avoid the bubble – these bids are not up for grabs yet (6): Wake Forest, Texas A&M, Baylor, Missouri, Richmond, Xavier

Note: California, Utah State, UTEP, Siena, Cornell, Northern Iowa are not included, as they are the current leaders in their respective conferences.