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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Dec 21, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce looks on from the sidelines during the first half against the Missouri Tigers at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Illinois Fighting Illini

John Groce might need a berth in the NCAA Tournament to save his job, leaving the Fighting Illini with plenty of work to do in Big Ten play.

At the very least, Illinois has shown a lot of improvement from last year with a mark of 11-4 so far. Illinois has won seven of its last eight games following an ugly stretch in late November, including resume-boosting victories against BYU, VCU and Ohio State to get on the board in the Big Ten on New Year’s Day.

Still, a home loss to Winthrop on November 24 is going to hurt, and the Fighting Illini were nowhere close to competitive in their Big Ten opener against a good but not great Maryland team. A RPI ranking of 33 has the Fighting Illini in decent shape for now, but they will need to pick up a couple of ranked wins before feeling good about their tournament chances.

Illinois’ will have a great opportunity for a signature road win against a shaky Indiana team on Saturday before hosting Michigan and Maryland next week. A home date with Wisconsin to close out January could be a must-win, although the Fighting Illini will need to play much better to take down any ranked teams in the Big Ten.

Malcolm Hill may be able to will Illinois to a few upsets by himself, as the star guard is averaging 18.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.