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College Basketball Bubble Watch: Week 16

By Nathaniel Reeves

Feb 22, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange fans celebrate on the court following the game against the Duke Blue Devils at the Carrier Dome. The Orange won 78-75. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 22, 2017; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange fans celebrate on the court following the game against the Duke Blue Devils at the Carrier Dome. The Orange won 78-75. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NCAA Tournament bubble is looking crowded with just over a week to go until the end of the regular season

With the start of conference tournaments rapidly approaching, bubble teams around the nation are running out of time to make one final push up the seed line.

While there are still a few regular season conference titles up for grabs, attention will soon fully turn to the bubble. As the Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 are down as a whole this year, the bubble is shaping up to be very soft, and a number of teams that will finish conference play below .500 this year are in the mix for the NCAA Tournament.

That has been to the benefit of the Big 12 and ACC, which could combine to send as many as 20 teams to the Big Dance. There has already been a major development in the bubble race this week, as Syracuse continued its surge in ACC play with a dramatic win over Duke on a buzzer beater Wednesday night.

These five teams will be worth watching over the weekend as they look to add a resume-boosting win to their respective NCAA Tournament profiles.

TCU Horned Frogs 

Jamie Dixon’s instant rebuilding job at TCU has been nothing short of incredible, but it’s still undetermined if that will result in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998.

The Horned Frogs gave Kansas a tough time in the first half at Phog Allen on Wednesday night before dropping an 87-68 decision to extend their losing streak to four. While losses to the Jayhawks, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Iowa state aren’t backbreakers, TCU has no more margin for error at 17-11 overall and 6-9 in Big 12 play.

TCU got through a soft non-conference schedule with a lone loss to SMU, and Nov. 21’s win over fellow bubble team Illinois State is looking stronger as the season goes on. There’s a smattering of good conference victories on the Horned Frogs’ resume, including a road triumph over Kansas State, and the fact that TCU’s only real bad loss is to Auburn could keep it afloat on Selection Sunday with a strong finish to the regular season.

Sill, there’s plenty of work left to do, as TCU could use a marquee victory to help its bubbly No. 52 RPI. Leading scorer Vladimir Brodziansky will look to get going over the final week plus, as the forward has slumped a bit during the current losing streak.

Getting a split out of two upcoming home games against West Virginia and Kansas State plus a win over Oklahoma to close out the regular season would put the Horned Frogs in a decent position entering the Big 12 Tournament.  Saturday’s showdown with the Mountaineers will easily be the most important contest of Dixon’s first season.