With time running out before Selection Sunday, these five teams still have some work to do to get off the college basketball bubble.
Less than one month remains before the start of the NCAA Tournament, meaning college basketball teams around the nation will look to make a final move up the seed line over the next few weeks.
The tournament cut line is shaping up to be quite weak this season due to the fact that multiple power conferences like the Big Ten and SEC are down. A number of bubble candidates are hovering around .500 in conference play, with huge logjams in the middle tier of both the ACC and Big 12.
Still, the sheer number of teams hovering around the bubble means there isn’t a lot of room for error down the stretch. While this weekends slate features crucial games like North Carolina-Virginia and Baylor-Kansas, several bubble teams will also have important showdowns in their quest to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Keep an eye on these five teams who are right on the cut line as Week 15 comes to a close.
5. Michigan State Spartans
It wasn’t against the greatest competition, but Michigan State picked up a pair of wins to keep a spot in the current projected field heading into the stretch run.
Just when things were starting to turn around for Tom Izzo, the Spartans were crushed by rival Michigan on Feb. 7 in a 86-57 blowout defeat. The beat down fortunately didn’t cause a complete tailspin, as Michigan State earned a pair of solid if unimpressive victories over Iowa and Ohio State.
That brings the Spartans to 16-10 overall and 8-5 in Big Ten play, which is shockingly tied for fourth place in the conference. Michigan State is in decent shape with the No. 41 RPI, and it would be hard to keep the Spartans out if they got to around 11 conference wins despite the lack of elite teams in the Big Ten this year.
While Michigan State’s lack of height has been a problem against stronger teams on the interior, freshman phenom Miles Bridges is talented to carry it to the tournament alone. Fellow freshman Cassius Winston has run the offense well over the past five games, and the Spartans are always dangerous in March with Izzo on the sidelines.
Beating both Nebraska and Illinois with a win or two in the Big Ten Tournament might be enough, but Michigan State would feel much better about its chances if it could pick up a win against a top three team in the conference. All three are still on the remaining schedule, starting with a trip to Purdue on Saturday.