ncaa tournament – Page 249 – Syndication Server

Oklahoma back on the bubble in latest bracketology

Oklahoma (16-11, 6-8) are officially on the bubble following a three-game losing streak capped off with a blowout loss to Oklahoma State (14-13, 4-10).

The Sooners’ loss to the Cowboys slid them to an 11-seed via USA TODAY, a play in 12-seed on ESPN, and an average of a 10.92-seed per Bracket Matrix.

With just four games remaining in the regular season, Oklahoma is going to have to win at least three of them to stay inside the bubble.

Hosting Texas Tech in Oklahoma City tomorrow night, heading to No. 19 West Virginia on Saturday before closing the regular season out with Texas at home and TCU on the road, the Sooners have no free games left. There is no room for air if Oklahoma wants to make it to the Big Dance. Lon Kruger’s crew have got to play their best basketball over the next two to two and a half weeks with selection Sunday just under three weeks away.

The Sooners’ gauntlet begins tomorrow night when they play host to Texas Tech at Chesapeake Energy Arena at 8p.m. on ESPN2. The Red Raiders won the first matchup in Lubbock, Texas, beating Oklahoma 69-61.

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Three Reasons Texas Can Still Make the NCAA Tournament

Despite a frustrating season, UT still has the chance to make the postseason. Here are three reasons they can still make the NCAA Tournament.

It has been a frustrating season for Texas, suffering some brutal losses throughout the year. Despite that, there is still a small glimmer of hope that Shaka Smart can lead the Longhorns to the postseason for the third time in his tenure in Austin.

Many times it has seemed like the chances at making the tournament were over, but somehow Texas still remains. After picking up wins against TCU and Kansas State, the Longhorns are just a win or two away from being back on the bubble.

Needing to win out and more than likely needing some help throughout the way, there is still a path to postseason basketball for Texas. Here are three reasons the Longhorns can still make the NCAA Tournament:

Upcoming Opportunities

The final four games for Texas has three NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule with West Virginia, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. With the latter two being played on the road, the Longhorns will have the chance to pick up three quadrant one victories in a row.

Already playing those three opponents, Texas is currently 0-3 against them. The West Virginia and Oklahoma games were double-digit losses, while the Longhorns only lost by five to Texas Tech. Revenge should be on their mind as Texas does not want to be getting swept in their season series against conference rivals.

Even winning two out of these three games would be big for the Longhorns as they just need a little bit of a boost to get their name back in the pool. With the crazy season it has been in college basketball, no team should ever be considered out of the fight, especially with quality opponents left like Texas has.

Wide-open Big 12 tournament

Baylor and Kansas are undoubtedly the two best teams in the Big 12 this season, both ranked within the top five of the AP poll. Looking past those two heavyweights, the rest of the conference is wide open. Besides Baylor and KU, only Texas Tech has a winning record in Big 12 play, with West Virginia at 7-7 and everyone else below .500.

If the tournament started today, Texas would be facing off against West Virginia in the four seed vs five seed matchup. They would then get an opportunity at the one seed, having the chance to get a vital win towards getting an NCAA tournament.

If the conference season has proven anything, it is that it is a fairly competitive league. Even if Baylor and Kansas only have one conference loss each, they remain beatable as they have played competitive games all year. Texas will compete with the best and have the chance to get a win to springboard them into the madness.

Star Guards Have Begun to Step Up on Offense

Throughout the entire season, inconsistency has been the downfall of the Longhorns, with star players playing well one night and then having issues the next night. In the last two games against TCU and Kansas State, Shaka Smart’s squad has been consistently good, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Scoring 70 points in both of their last two games, the source of points have been coming from the guards, with Matt Coleman, Courtney Ramey, and Andrew Jones all stepping up big time. Ramey and Jones were in double figures in both games, while Coleman dropped a career-high 26 against Kansas State after missing out against TCU with an injury.

Role players like Will Baker, Kamaka Hepa, and Royce Hamm Jr. have been solid in the two wins, but the road to success rolls through the Texas backcourt. When the Longhorns have struggled, it has been due to offensive struggles. When Coleman, Jones, and Ramey are shooting the ball to their full potential, Texas is able to compete with anybody in the Big 12.

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Wisconsin is approaching NCAA lock status after win vs Rutgers

Wisconsin wins

Having covered college basketball for several years and having followed the sport since I was a kid, I have had to learn the hard way to not pronounce a team an NCAA Tournament “lock” too prematurely.

I have made “LOCK” declarations in the middle of February, only to watch in horror and embarrassment as that “LOCK” team proceeded to lose six games in a row and tumble into the NIT.

The point about “LOCK” versus “likely in” is that an NCAA Tournament lock is not a lock unless that team can lose ALL of its remaining games and still make the Big Dance. A team might be highly unlikely to lose five games in a row, but if it DOES and it can fall out of the tournament, it’s obviously not a lock, right?

I cover tennis. I have seen players take a 5-0 lead in a set and not lose the set. The player isn’t a lock to win the set at 5-0. Highly likely? Of course… but that sixth and final game needs to be won first. So it is with Wisconsin. The Badgers could still go on a huge losing streak, including Northwestern at home. If UW loses every remaining game, it could still fall out of the NCAA Tournament. I am not ready to use the L-word just yet.

However… with all of that having been said:

It is getting close to Locksville for Wisconsin.

The Badgers are stacking together wins, not losses. They are moving upward while the rest of the bubble goes down or stagnates, with few exceptions. Wisconsin needed to avoid a four-game losing streak… and not only is it doing that, it is building a four-game winning streak after handling Rutgers on Sunday in the Kohl Center.

If Wisconsin does lose its next four regular-season games, followed by its first game at the Big Ten Tournament, yeah, it might still have to sweat out Selection Sunday… but I think with one more win, a lock is a reasonable call to make. Two more wins, and a lock is absolutely certain.

Locksville, USA. Wisconsin hasn’t completed the journey, but it is almost there, and the car has plenty of fuel in the tank.

Joe Lunardi has Wisconsin as a 7 seed — you can begin to breathe

Bracketology on Feb. 21

The Godfather of Bracketology, Joe Lunardi, released his latest bracket projection on Friday morning, Feb. 21.

He has the Wisconsin Badgers as a No. 7 seed. Are you beginning to — as Aaron Rodgers might say — “R-E-L-A-X”?

If you’re a skeptic about Wisconsin’s NCAA bubble positioning, you should begin to loosen up those shoulders and unclench your fists. You can begin to release that nervous energy and that instinctive skepticism which was merited after the 5-5 start and the ugly Purdue-Iowa sequence in late January which put this team in a bind. The more the season continues, the better the outlook gets for Wisconsin.

We told you earlier this week that USA TODAY projected Wisconsin as a 9 seed… BEFORE the win over Purdue. That would suggest Wisconsin is at least an 8 seed right now. With Lunardi projecting a 7 seed, we can generally arrive at a majority viewpoint among bracketologists: Wisconsin is probably no worse than an 8 right now.

That is a comfortable position in the NCAA field. Only a large losing streak will get in the way of this. Wisconsin would have to lose at home to Northwestern and lose at least two other games, probably three, to fall all the way out of the field. If the Badgers avoid losing to Northwestern at home (and really, how worried are you about that game?), they will avoid the one loss which can profoundly hurt them.

Let’s say that UW does lose to Northwestern, though. Okay, so the Badgers might fall to the 10-seed line if they are currently an 8 seed. That’s still in the field with some margin for error. Wisconsin would have to lose other games, and since the Big Ten is so deep and good this season, other losses won’t be terrible losses. They won’t be GREAT losses, no, but they won’t severely drag down a profile, Nebraska being the only exception other than Northwestern.

If this was a more typical Big Ten year — one in which Rutgers and Penn State weren’t very good — Wisconsin would have cause to worry about this upcoming Sunday’s game against Rutgers. As is, however, losing to Rutgers would not significantly damage UW’s overall profile.

Wisconsin is in a good spot in terms of Dancing in March.

R-E-L-A-X. Listen to your favorite Green Bay Packer quarterback.

Wednesday night was a great bubble night for Wisconsin

Wisconsin and the bubble

There aren’t many days left in the college basketball regular season. The regular season is defined as the schedule of games preceding the conference tournaments. Many of the smaller conferences in Division I men’s basketball will conclude their conference seasons on Feb. 29 or March 1. Their conference tournaments will commence in the first week of March. The first tickets to the Big Dance, the 2020 NCAA Tournament, will be handed out on the first full weekend of March (Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th).

As Yogi Berra once said, “It gets late early out there.”

Even though this is a leap year — which means one extra day in February — we are at an advanced stage of the college basketball regular season. The bubble picture is gaining detail — not necessarily clarity, but certainly more accumulated results and more of an understanding of what teams need to do to improve or hijack their bubble status.

Wednesday night, the Wisconsin Badgers received plenty of good news relative to the bubble. Whether you think UW is relatively safe (as I do), or or whether you remain skeptical (which is a reasonable position, given that the Badgers need to avoid losing to Northwestern in early March before they feel fully comfortable), you can acknowledge that the bubble landscape is moving in a direction which is favorable to the Badgers.

Start with North Carolina State beating Duke by a lot. That loss to the Wolfpack looks a lot better now. The Richmond team which is fighting for an NCAA bid continues to win. That loss looks better. Indiana beat Minnesota, making sure the Gophers won’t get into the NCAAs. Minnesota has to thread the needle now, which includes beating Maryland. If the Gophers can’t beat the Terps, stick a fork in them. They would be completely finished.

Then look at two other conferences, the AAC and SEC. Bubble teams are cratering in those conferences. Cincinnati lost at home to UCF on Wednesday. The AAC seemed to be a league which might have four or five NCAA teams a few weeks ago. That number might be down to two. Wisconsin stands to benefit from that.

In the SEC, Arkansas once looked like a No. 4 or 5 seed. However, an injury to Isaiah Joe has severely crippled the Razorbacks, who are now 4-9 in the SEC. Arkansas is joined on the wrong side of the bubble by Alabama, which took a bad home-court loss on Wednesday to Texas A&M. If you’re still worried about Wisconsin — which, again, is perfectly understandable — just know that Arkansas and Alabama are in the process of playing their way out of the field.

It is only one night, and one night generally doesn’t guarantee a bubble outcome, but Wednesday certainly moved Wisconsin up — not down — the seed list. It was a very good night for the Badgers.

Bracketology: Wisconsin comfortably in NCAA Tournament field

Bracketology in the second half of February

Before the Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Purdue Boilermakers on Tuesday night, they were already in a relatively comfortable spot in the NCAA Tournament — no, not 100-percent safe, but ahead of roughly 10 teams relative to the bubble cut line.

Bracketologists Shelby Mast and Scott Gleeson put the Badgers as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament in their Feb. 17 edition of bracketology. Given that Wisconsin beat Purdue, the Badgers might have moved up one seed line as a result of their victory. Meanwhile, Purdue — one of the four last teams in the field according to Mast and Gleeson — might have fallen out of the field altogether. Purdue and Indiana were both part of the “last four in” for USA TODAY’s resident bracket crew, so for any Wisconsin fans still a little worried about the Badgers’ “IN OR OUT?” status, please realize that there are a bunch of Big Ten teams in a far worse position than Wisconsin. Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota (which wasn’t even in the last four out, probably one or two notches below that) are the teams truly sweating bullets right now.

Wisconsin’s stress level compared to Indiana, Purdue and especially Minnesota, can be compared to resting in a hammock on a beach with a cocktail. As we have continued to tell you here at Badgers Wire, a total implosion is the one thing which can ruin UW’s hopes. Wisconsin will have to lose at home to Northwestern, and then lose multiple other games, to put itself in real danger.

One other note to point out here: One of the last four teams in the field under this bracket projection — in addition to Purdue and Indiana — is North Carolina State. The Wolfpack defeated Wisconsin earlier in the season. If North Carolina State does get in the field, it won’t be at Wisconsin’s expense. The Wolfpack actually NEED Wisconsin to continue to play well, because that win is propping up North Carolina State’s bubble profile. North Carolina State won’t get in while Wisconsin gets left out. If North Carolina State gets in the tournament, Wisconsin will surely be there.

We say this every year, but if you are worried about your team’s bubble status, remember that dozens of other bubble teams are in worse shape. The committee has to find 68 teams, not 10 or 12. It has to find 36 at-large bids, not five or six.

Wisconsin is still comfortable — not a complete lock, but moving toward lock status with a few more victories.

Notre Dame/North Carolina: Irish a Home Favorite

For what it’s worth (probably very little), Notre Dame has covered just once in their last eight games played on a Monday.

I know North Carolina is struggling this season and that Roy Williams pretty much told his team earlier this year that they were painful to watch, awful and every other negative adjective you could think.

I also know that that Tar Heels are just 9-15 since their opening night win over the Fighting Irish in November and have struggled mightily even with Cole Anthony (19.3 ppg) returning to the lineup.

But it’s still a rare day, or at least feels like one when Notre Dame is favored over North Carolina in basketball and that’s exactly what we have in the case of Monday night’s game.

Notre Dame is listed as a 2.5 point favorite over the Tar Heels tonight with the total set at 147.5. A successful North Carolina money-line bet would pay +105.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USATODAY Sports Betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated February 17 at 11:15 a.m. ET

North Carolina defeated Notre Dame 76-65 to open the season on November 6 but has since struggled to a 10-15 overall record and a 3-11 ACC record, good for last place in the conference.

Notre Dame meanwhile enters 15-10 overall, 6-8 in conference and 12-3 on their home court this season.

Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN tonight.

For what it’s worth (probably very little), Notre Dame has covered just once in their last eight games played on a Monday.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

-Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

No. 7 Duke vs. Notre Dame Betting Info: Blue Devils Double Digit Favorite

Notre Dame lost a heartbreaker last time out at Virginia but have covered the spread in their last six outings.

Notre Dame wraps up their three road games in seven days stretch Saturday afternoon as they’re in Durham, North Carolina to take on No. 7 Duke.

The Fighting Irish enter the contest clinging to NCAA Tournament hopes that are built heavily on schedule relief that comes after Saturday’s trip to Cameron Indoor Arena.

No. 7 Duke is listed as of Saturday morning as a 12.5 point favorite and the total sits at 151.5 – up slightly from Notre Dame’s latest outing at Virginia that saw 99 total points scored in 45 minutes.

If you’d like to bet Notre Dame on the money-line Saturday, a winning bet pays at +625.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USATODAY Sports Betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated February 15 at 9:10 a.m. ET

Notre Dame heads to Duke at 15-9 overall, 6-7 in ACC play which has them seventh in the conference. The Irish have also gone 3-5 in true road contests.

No. 7 Duke enters Saturday at 21-3 overall and 11-2 both in the ACC and at Cameron. The conference mark has them a half game behind No. 5 Louisville for the ACC lead.

Notre Dame lost a heartbreaker last time out at Virginia but have covered the spread in their last six outings.

Tip-off is set for 4 p.m ET at Duke today and can be seen on ESPN.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.

-Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

USA TODAY Still Not Putting Notre Dame’s Tournament Hopes on Life Support

Seven conference games remain for Notre Dame before the ACC Tournament and Saturday’s against Duke is the final before the stretch run that will see only Florida State as a likely NCAA Tournament team.

Despite the heartbreaking 50-49 loss at Virginia Tuesday night that set Notre Dame back to 6-7 in ACC play, not everyone has the Fighting Irish’s NCAA Tournament chances being dead just yet.

The USA TODAY released their latest “bracketology” projection and no, Notre Dame is not in the dance yet again, but they’re still in the “being considered” category and not in the “on life support” category that the outlet sorts bubble teams by.

Duke, Florida State, Louisville and Virginia are the four ACC teams that are represented in this latest projection as making the dance.

It has been a year of close calls for Notre Dame as they’ve nearly gotten wins against three of those schools listed above but fell just short in each case. The Fighting Irish get their chance at Duke on Saturday night, where a win would mean a ton.

As rough as it has been and as frustrating as things have sometimes gone, there’s still a chance this team ends up somehow dancing which would be quite the feather in Mike Brey’s cap.

Michigan basketball middling in latest USA TODAY NCAA Tournament bracket prediction

Where WolverinesWire’s parent company projects the maize and blue in March Madness with seven regular season games remaining.

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College basketball guru for NCAA.com Andy Katz has Michigan as a 7-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament next month, and that was even before Isaiah Livers returned to the lineup.

Something tells us that the powers-that-be at our parent publication didn’t get the memo about how much different Michigan is with Livers at or near full capacity, as evidenced by the Wolverines solid win over the former preseason No. 1 team in the country, Michigan State, this past Saturday.

We get it — Michigan is 15-9, and spent most of January looking like an NIT basketball team at-best. However, that was without maybe the Wolverines’ best player. Long forgotten were the days of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, when Michigan took down Iowa State, UNC and Gonzaga in consecutive days. It’s still Gonzaga’s sole loss on the season.

Still, the maize and blue are 28th in the NCAA’s NET rating, which is how teams are actually seeded into the tournament, and that metric is determined by quadrant wins and losses. And Michigan, while it has 6 quad 1 wins, it also has 8 quad 1 losses at the moment. But, with a schedule that still includes just one ranked team — the regular season finale at Maryland — there’s a solid chance Michigan could look closer to what it did in November than in January.

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However, USA TODAY Sports has Michigan as a future 8-seed in the West region culminating in Los Angeles, starting off against 9-seed Oklahoma in Spokane, Wash. before having to likely face down once again against 1-seed Gonzaga in the round of 32.

It might be a path the Wolverines would be willing to take considering the last time Michigan played Gonzaga on a neutral court. The Bulldogs succumbed to the maize and blue 82-64 in a game that wasn’t even that close.

Regardless, it’s quite unlikely at this juncture, so long as Michigan stays healthy, that it will end up being as low as an 8-seed. But anything can happen.