2017 College Basketball Bubble Watch: Week nine

College Basketball Bubble Watch: Week 9

Jan 3, 2017; Lawrence, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats forward Wesley Iwundu (25) celebrates after scoring a three point basket during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas won 90 to 88. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

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These five college basketball teams have some work to do to improve their respective NCAA Tournament resumes over the next two months.

Conference play is just getting underway for college basketball teams around the nation, but it’s never too early to start thinking about the NCAA Tournament.

The first week of 2017 featured some thrilling games and a number of upsets which will have an impact on postseason seeding. No. 18 Butler owns the most notable result of the week so far with a 66-58 win over No. 1 Villanova on Wednesday, leaving just two undefeated teams remaining.

That wasn’t the only upset of the day, as No. 23 Notre Dame took down No. 9 Louisville, while Pittsburgh hung 88 points on No. 11 Virginia in an overtime win. The ACC will be worth keeping an eye on all season long, as even lowly Georgia Tech was able to score an upset over No. 14 North Carolina last week.

While those highly-ranked teams are locks for the NCAA Tournament, even with all the upsets, some other teams need to improve their resumes before March. These five programs have some work to do entering the first weekend of 2017.

Rhode Island Rams

Rhode Island entered the season ranked 23rd in the AP Poll with expectations of winning the Atlantic 10. A conference championship is still very much possible for the Rams, but a disappointing non-conference slate puts them squarely on the bubble in early January.

The Rams got off to a good start with four straight wins to open the season, including a neutral court win over No. 22 Cincinnati. Since then, Rhode Island has gone 6-4, which doesn’t give it a lot of room for error in A10 play.

Losses to teams like Valparaiso, Providence and Houston aren’t total back-breakers for the Rams’ postseason hopes. However, the Rams currently sit at 38th in the RPI and 32nd in the Pomeroy ratings, meaning they need a signature win over a top A10 team and can’t afford any bad losses.

The good news for Rhode Island is that star forward Hassan Martin was able to return in Tuesday’s win over St. Joseph’s after missing a month with a quad injury. Guard E.C. Matthews has also scored at least 17 points in each of his last three games following an extended shooting slump in late November.

Rhode Island has a great opportunity to separate itself from the bubble with a trip to Dayton on Friday night.