A Deeper Look At March Madness Bubble Teams & Who Should Be In

Selection Sunday is a little over a week away, and that’s always a huge day in the sport of college basketball. Teams play all year to have a chance at reaching the NCAA Tournament and Selection Sunday is when they will get their names called. 

The NCAA Tournament bubble is once again extremely crowded, and it will continue to be that way through conference tournament action. There are more than 20 teams that appear to be “safe,” but others still have plenty of work to do. 

The state of Ohio won’t get shut out when it comes to the NCAA Tournament, but there might only be a couple of in-state college teams in the field. Here is a look at Ohio teams on the bubble and an overall look of where teams stand. 

Dayton Should Be Sweating

The Dayton Flyers have had a very interesting season, and it’s going to leave them sweating on Selection Sunday. It’s hard to even make a case for Dayton in either direction as they have just been so inconsistent. 

The Flyers recently suffered a devastating loss to La Salle, and that appeared to be enough to keep them from reaching the NCAA Tournament. Dayton then responded by stunning Richmond on the road, and that has them back in the conversation.

Dayton can play their way into the NCAA Tournament field, but it’s going to take a solid run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. There are also other teams in the A-10 that will be trying to make a move into the Big Dance, further complicating things for the Flyers.

Questions in the Big Ten 

The Big Ten Conference could get as many as nine teams in the NCAA Tournament, but that number could be as low as six depending on what takes place. Michigan, Rutgers, and Indiana are all squarely on the bubble, and each team could have some issues if they bow out early in the Big Ten Tournament. 

Michigan and Rutgers appear to be in the best shape, but they will still be worrying on Selection Sunday. Indiana is currently not projected to be in the field of 68, but there will be some opportunities to earn resume-boosting wins next week in Indianapolis. 

Some Ohio Teams In Good Shape

There are two teams from the state of Ohio that look to be absolute locks to make th e NCAA Tournament, and it’s all about seeding for these programs. Ohio State and Xavier are the two teams that will hear their name called on Selection Sunday, and both could be favored to win in the first round.

Ohio State has made a mess of things over the last week as they have suffered a pair of upset losses in conference play. The Buckeyes were looking like a three or four seed before this week, but they will need to win some games to get back to that position.

Xavier is currently hovering around the bubble, but they appear to have done just enough to make it into the NCAA Tournament. The Musketeers can’t afford to have a number of bid stealers win conference tournaments, but Xavier could also take care of business on its own in the Big East Tournament. 

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