The Dreaded Bubble, Part I
needs a good run.
Big 12
In: Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri
Bubble: Colorado, Texas Tech, Texas A&M
Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Missouri all have top twenty RPIs. All are in. No other conference has more than three teams in the top twenty. Colorado has beaten Texas and Kansas, has a 9-4 record against top-100 teams, and is #51 in the RPI rankings. A strong finish takes them to the dance. Texas Tech (#48) and Texas A&M (#53) are both in bad shape without major wins. Neither has established a good enough conference record or list of wins to get in without beating some of the five locks during the rest of the season and the conference tournie.
Big West
In: Utah State or UC-Santa Barbara
Only one will get in, but both have a shot at winning the conference. Santa Barbara has played well lately, but Utah State boasts a better overall record and a higher RPI (#92 vs. #117).
For those keeping track, we have accounted for ten automatic bids (out of thirty-one) and have established twelve locks for at-large bids, leaving twenty-two other at-large bids. We have listed seventeen teams so far that are competing for those remaining twenty-two slots.
Part II of this article will cover the remaining twenty-one conferences.
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