BE bubble teams

[Windyplayer]

First off, Congratulations to all Scoopers for making it through one of this team's toughest stretches of basketball in recent memory, without (completely) melting down though my fiancee may beg the differ. Good news! We're still breathing. It's no secret that we're on the bubble, but what about those other teams that are right there with us in the Big East. I'll take an unbiased look at Cincy, WVU, St. Johns, and, yes, MU.  

Cincinnati (18-4, 5-4): OUT. This team is a pretender. The Bearcats had a BABY SOFT non-conference schedule with their most notable win coming against lowly Oklahoma. They've rode that wave of feel-good Ws into the Big East with wins against DePaul, USF, Seton Hall, South Florida all at home and @ St. Johns. No bad conference losses. This team has proven nothing save the win in New York and as one might have suspected their schedule is going to get exponentially tougher. They'll have to ante up or go home. They have to play G-town twice, @ PITT, UCONN, Louisville, @ Marquette, @ Providence (not a gimme, just ask Nova), and St. Johns (with revenge on the Red Storm's mind). Their only easy game is DePaul, but that is at DePaul, just saying. The Clemso..excuse me, Cincinnati Bearcats, are going to be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday.

West Virginia (15-6, 6-3): IN. Good non-conference wins against Vandy and Purdue and a loss against Miami (FL) that's not going to do them any favors. One quality win in conference against G-town in D.C. with their other Ws coming against Seton Hall, Providence, USF, @DePaul, and @Cincy. No bad conference losses. WVU's remaining nine games are a microcosm of why the Big East brings any team to its knees. PITT twice, @Cuse, @Nova, Notre Dame, UCONN, Louisville, @Rutgers, and fleeting break against DePaul in Morgantown. WOW. I do not envy this team right now. This team is 6-3 in the BEast right now and could easily finish at 10-8. WVU will make the tourney with a few quality wins during this brutal stretch, but they'll have a humbling record come March. Nothing to be ashamed of in quite possibly the deepest conference in college bball history.

St. Johns (13-8, 5-5): OUT. The Johnnies have good wins, @WVU, Notre Dame, and Duke. No bad BEast losses however they did lose to Fordham and St. Bonaventure in non-conference play. The upcoming schedule for the Red Storm is, well, brutal. The Red Storm did themselves no favors by scheduling UCLA. They have to take a transcontinental flight over the weekend in the middle of the BEast season to play a pretty good team. That game has L written all over it. Oh and when they return to the Big East they'll really rue the day they decided to jet out to Cali. Their next four games are UCONN, @Cincy, @Marquette, and PITT. Their last four are bookended by easy games at home against DePaul and USF, but travel to Nova and Seton Hall in between. An 8-10 finish is not out of the question. If that record comes to fruition, they may have home-court advantage in that other tournament's final four.

Marquette: (14-9, 5-5): IN. Time to catch up for the Golden Eagles. Though the non-conference did not yield any quality wins it didn't result in any Fordham-like losses. We know the quality wins in the BEast (Cuse, ND, and WVU) and similar to the non-conference there are no bad conference losses. Their remaining schedule is BY FAR the easiest of the other three teams on the bubble. Why? Because this team has already paid its dues against the likes of Cuse, UCONN, Notre Dame (twice), Nova, PITT, and Louisville. Sure, they have to play @Gtown and @UCONN, but the other games are Seton Hall 2X, @USF and Providence, St. Johns, and Cincy at home. This team is pretty much a lock for 10 wins in the BEaST and that equals an at large bid in March.  

[GoPanthers33]

Very good post.

I completely agree on Marquette and West Virginia getting in however I think one of Cincy and St. Johns will get in. The BE will get 10 instead of the 11 many want and someone will be heartbroken on Selection Sunday.

Cincy may end up with the magical "20 win mark" but with the non-conference schedule they played they will need 23 or 24 wins to have a shot imo. (Just ask Virginia Tech last year)

Meanwhile St. Johns has some impressive wins and will end up with a top 5 SOS (Currently 3rd). 2 years ago I believe Arizona got in with like 18 wins after playing a top 3 SOS so I think St. Johns will have a shot it they can win 4 or 5 games and then 1 or 2 in the BET.

[brewcity77]

Hmm...West Virginia as a bubble team? They are projected to have a 13 RPI, 20 wins, and an 11-7 BEast record. And the loss to Marshall on a neutral court is far more dubious than a loss to Miami on the road. But either way, they would have to nosedive to be anything but a lock. Get them to 9-9 and their RPI will easily get them in. They are projected as a 5 seed by Lunardi, Glockner, and Palm. Barring a complete collapse, they are a lock. If West Virginia's on the bubble, so are Syracuse, Georgetown, and Louisville.

[DCWarriors04]

Could be a soft bubble this year...Michigan St looks more and more like they are NIT bound, Butler's loss to Youngstown St hurts, Gonzaga needs to win their conference tourney or else they are out, and I'm probably missing a couple other teams that usually are in the dance that won't be this year.

[MuMark]

Cincy also beat Xavier by 30.

As was noted above WV is not on the bubble. Its MU, Cincy and SJ. All could make it. 2 of the 3 almost certainly will.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Bracketology.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

11 Big East schools in the field. MU is a lock!

[MerrittsMustache]

I think St. John's is in. For some committee members, a W over a team like Duke counts as about 3-4 extra wins.

[MuMark]

They are just like us. In now but can play their way out. 13-8 with the Duke win but losses to Fordham and the Bonnies.

They still have to play at Cincy, at UCLA, at MU, at Nova at Seton Hall and have Pitt and UCONN at home.

If they get in they will earn it.

[Windyplayer]

Hmm...West Virginia as a bubble team? They are projected to have a 13 RPI, 20 wins, and an 11-7 BEast record. And the loss to Marshall on a neutral court is far more dubious than a loss to Miami on the road. But either way, they would have to nosedive to be anything but a lock. Get them to 9-9 and their RPI will easily get them in. They are projected as a 5 seed by Lunardi, Glockner, and Palm. Barring a complete collapse, they are a lock. If West Virginia's on the bubble, so are Syracuse, Georgetown, and Louisville.

They're a lock right now, which seems a little paradoxical, but look at their conference wins--very weak. I wouldn't be surprised if they fell apart based on their upcoming schedule.

[brewcity77]

They're a lock right now, which seems a little paradoxical, but look at their conference wins--very weak. I wouldn't be surprised if they fell apart based on their upcoming schedule.

WVU's strength is our weakness. They have a number of solid non-conference wins against mid-majors. Oakland, Duquesne, Cleveland State, all projected to be top-60 wins. Along with Vandy and Purdue they really have no worries. They also have DePaul and Rutgers left on the schedule, which should get them to 8-10 and with a soft bubble may be enough to get them in. Get one more win and they're easily in, especially with another quality win in Georgetown already under their belts. Like I said, barring a complete collapse, they are a lock. And Syracuse, Georgetown, and Louisville are all in the exact same boat. Any of them could miss out if they took a nosedive at this point too.

[pbiflyer]

Bracketology.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology

11 Big East schools in the field. MU is a lock!

Big Ten with 7 teams in????? Wow.

[Marquette_Fan]

Here is my response in a youtube video. If its a long response I rather make a video because I hate typing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z15x0aITa8

[jficke13]

Here is my response in a youtube video. If its a long response I rather make a video because I hate typing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z15x0aITa8

more evidence of the downfall of western civilization