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College Basketball Bubble Watch: Week 13

By Nathaniel Reeves

Jan 23, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) handles the ball while TCU Horned Frogs guard Alex Robinson (25) defends during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys won 89-76. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) handles the ball while TCU Horned Frogs guard Alex Robinson (25) defends during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys won 89-76. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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As the calendar turns to February, these five teams are squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Jan 23, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) handles the ball while TCU Horned Frogs guard Alex Robinson (25) defends during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys won 89-76. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2017; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) handles the ball while TCU Horned Frogs guard Alex Robinson (25) defends during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys won 89-76. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /

Week 12 of the college basketball season featured the wildest slate of games in what’s already been a memorable regular season, leading to a shake up at the top of the rankings.

Seven teams ranked in the previous AP top 10 went down, with only Gonzaga, Baylor and Arizona escaping without a loss. Week 13 is already off to a promising start as well, as the Bears played a terrific game at Kansas on Wednesday night only to fall just short in a 73-68 Jayhawks win.

While all of those upsets will have an impact on top seeds, a few bubble teams around the nation picked up some marquee victories in the process. A number of major conference teams exceeded expectations in the first few months of the season, leading to a crucial stretch run for teams looking to qualify for the dance.

With March quickly approaching, these five teams still have some work to do to get off the bubble.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

There was some concern entering the season that undermanned Georgia Tech could be in for a last place finish in the ACC. Instead, Josh Pastner has done a fantastic job to get the Yellow Jackets in position to compete for a berth in the NCAA Tournament over the final few weeks of the season.

Georgia Tech currently sits at 13-9 overall and 5-5 in ACC play, which ranks ahead of other bubble teams like Miami, Wake Forest and Clemson. The Yellow Jackets have already taken down the likes of North Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame, giving them more marquee wins that just about any other team on the bubble.

Despite the impressive resume in ACC play, Pastner’s team is still not safe after going 8-4 with a few shaky losses during the nonconference slate, and a one-point loss to Virginia Tech back on Jan. 18 might hurt on Selection Sunday. The good news is the Yellow Jackets only have one ranked team left on their regular season schedule, although nothing is easy in the ACC.

Georgia Tech ranks just 67th in RPI per ESPN, which will need to improve before Selection Sunday. Still, all of those ranked wins have the Yellow Jackets in the mix, and they play tough defense with center Ben Lammers racking up 3.2 blocks per game.

A road win over Wake Forest on Saturday would be huge, as the Demon Deacons are just on the wrong side of the bubble for now. A scheduling quirk will then have the Yellow Jackets hosting Division II Tusculum on Tuesday.