2020 Bubble Watch
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Bubble teams are rejoicing tonight as ETSU comes alive in the 2nd half to roll to an easy victory in the SoCon title game and clinch an automatic bid and remove themselves from the bubble pool.
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@BShark Steve Forbes should be headed to a power 5 job as soon as he wants it.
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@kjayhawks Absolutely. 75% win rate in D1 and 77% total as a HC. Has done a great job building the ETSU program back up.
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Zags avoid the upset bid from San Francisco. If they weren’t a lock as a 1 seed before, that should nail it down.
USF played them tough earlier this year as well…probably NIT bound. 22 wins in a good mid-major.
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@nwhawkfan said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
Zags avoid the upset bid from San Francisco. If they weren’t a lock as a 1 seed before, that should nail it down.
USF played them tough earlier this year as well…probably NIT bound. 22 wins in a good mid-major.
The WCC is improved over the last few years. USF is a good team
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USF has a good young coach too. A mixed bag of international players. 3 of their top 4 players will return which gives them a chance to keep competitive
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No games with bubble implications today, but there are 5 automatic bids on the line today.
The Horizon League final between UIC and Northern Kentucky on ESPN at 6pm (Central)
The NEC title game between St. Francis (PA) and Robert Morris on ESPN2 at 6pm (Central)
The Colonial title game between Northeastern and Hofstra on CBSSN at 6pm (Central)
Gonzaga and St. Mary’s on ESPN at 8pm (Central) for the WCC title.
North Dakota and NDSU for the Summit League title on ESPN2 at 8pm (Central).
The first of power conference tournaments also gets going today as the ACC Tournament gets underway with 2 games today. Pitt and Wake Forest in what could be Danny Manning’s final game as head coach at Wake. The other game is UNC and VA Tech. As bad as UNC has been this year, that team still has a lot of talent capable of making a run in the ACC Tournament so I’ll be curious to see what they do this week.
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Creighton’s PG and 2nd leading scorer is doubtful for the Big-East tournament with a knee injury…
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I have been a big proponent over the years that at-large bids should only go to teams that have a .500 overall record and a .500 record in conference. There’s no point in giving credit to playing a bunch of tough teams, but losing most of those games.
That rule would mean that the following schools would be eliminated from the Bubble as of now:
ACC - Clemson
Big 12 - TCU
Big East - Marquette, Xavier
Big Ten - Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota
That’s seven schools that would be off the bubble watch, and looking to win their conference tournament to get in.
It would also make the last couple of weeks of conference play more interesting, as teams potentially on the bubble would be playing virtual play in games to qualify, like Indiana was faced with over the last couple of weeks. Indiana finished Big Ten play at 9-11, so they were one win away from being .500. That would have made this weekend’s home game against Wisconsin a game to remain at-large eligible. That makes the road loss to Illinois even bigger, not to mention the egg they laid at Purdue.
It just makes things that much more interesting for both P5 schools, and for the top teams from mid majors, most of whom are currently shut out by the 9th place team from a P5 conference.
Just my opinion, though.
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I love that we never have to worry about “bubble watch”
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Lot’s of interesting games will be played in the major conference tournaments. I think the B12 is set outside of Texas, I believe they have to beat Tech and maybe even the winner of our game to feel comfortable. I don’t see a major upset coming in this conference, I bet whomever wins it is already in the field of 68. The most intriguing games this week are in the Pac 12, Big 10 and SEC IMO. The Pac 12 has a good share of teams that will make or break their chances. Stanford, UCLA and ASU all probably need at least one win maybe two for Stanford. I think this conference has a chance to have an upset and a team on the outside gets the Auto-Bid. I think Oregon is a solid team but the rest are evenly matched, if someone can upset the ducks, it’s anyone’s game. I personally don’t think its anything other than the usual suspects in the B10. Maryland, MSU and Wisconsin have the best teams and one of those teams gets it done. Indiana is really the only bubble team for that conference, Purdue has an outside shot. If one of those teams can win 2 games, maybe even 3 for Purdue. They should get in but Purdue would have to play MSU in the second game and I think that’s a easy win for the Spartans. The SEC I think is another where you could see a team get in that wouldn’t without winning the tournament. Mississippi state, Florida and South Carolina are teams that still have a chance to get an at large bid. I wouldn’t sleep on Arkansas, they got back their man guy (forget his name) and he makes them a much better team. With Florida and Kentucky on the top side and the other 3 on the bottom side. I think the one of the trio of MSU, SC and Arkansas gets to the title game and upsets UK or Florida for the auto -bid.
Edit: i don’t care care about the ACC lol
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@kjayhawks SC is toast if they don’t win the SEC tourney. Women’s team going strong, though!
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@kjayhawks Texas/Tech is essentially an elimination game as I can’t see the loser getting an at large bid.
In the PAC12, If Stanford beats Cal, they would play UCLA in what should essentially be another elimination game.
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Add Yale to list of NCAA Tournament teams as the Ivy League announced they have cancelled their post season tournaments giving their automatic bids to the regular season champs.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
Add Yale to list of NCAA Tournament teams as the Ivy League announced they have cancelled their post season tournaments giving their automatic bids to the regular season champs.
yet to be determined. - - Tommy Amker and others are petitioning to play tourney games anyways could get messy
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I’d be fine if the B12 did the same but too much money at stake for the bigger conferences.
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Northern Kentucky, Hofstra, and Robert Morris have all punched their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. North Dakota State appears well on their way to the NCAA Tournament as well.
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St. Mary’s over Gonzaga?
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@Marco doesn’t look like it, up 12 with 10 minutes to go. Game is on ESPN currently
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@kjayhawks lol, that was earlier.
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@Marco the game is live right now on ESPN bud.
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@kjayhawks I know, that is what I was watching. It was tight then.
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@Marco I see, Gonzaga ended up spanking them.
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@kjayhawks said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
@Marco I see, Gonzaga ended up spanking them.
Saint Mary’s was up 5 at one point late in the 1st half when I checked on my (when I posted the 3 automatic bids from the early games actually) and only down 1 at halftime. Gonzaga smoked them in the 2nd half.
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Gonzaga and NDSU each rolled to easy wins to wrap their bids.
Gonzaga will be the 1 seed out west and probably the 2nd overall seed behind KU.
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Recap
Automatic bids given out today:
CAA: Hofstra
Horizon: Northern Kentucky
Ivy: Yale (Regular season champs since Ivy cancelled their post season tournament)
NEC: Robert Morris (potential 1st round KU opponent)
Summit: North Dakota St.
WCC: Gonzaga
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There are no automatic bids on the line tomorrow, but there are several games involving bubble teams as all the major conferences will get underway tomorrow if they weren’t already underway (ACC). I believe the American will be the only conference tournament not underway tomorrow as they start on Thursday.
In the ACC, NC State takes on Pitt in a game the Wolfpack must win to stay in the mix.
In the Big 10, Indiana will take on Nebraska in a game the Hoosiers must win. Nebraska actually added a couple of football players to the basketball team because of how shorthanded they are now with a couple of suspensions that got handed out.
In the PAC 12, Stanford takes on Cal in a game the Cardinal have to win to get a crack at UCLA in what should amount to an elimination game from the NCAA Tournament for those two. A loss to Cal will send Haase to the NIT.
In the SEC, Arkansas takes on Vanderbilt in a game the Razorbacks must win to whatever hopes they have left alive.
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Okie State edges ISU in a back-and-forth finish to open the B12 tourney. Cowboys face KU tomorrow.
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@nwhawkfan the refs edged ISU garbage calls late put okie state at the line often in the last 5 minutes.
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DePaul knocks Xavier out of the Big East tournament. Musketeers were already on the bubble.
Ex-Jayhawk Charlie Moore with 18 points (including 4 threes) and 9 assists for the Blue Demons.
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Xavier goes down in the 1st round of the Big East Tournament to DePaul. This will probably bump Xavier into the NIT.
Stanford also probably blew any tournament hopes they had with a loss to Cal.
Arkansas got a 13 point win over Vanderbilt to keep their chances alive.
Indiana with a 25 point win today over Nebraska. Obviously not the story in this game with the Fred Hoiberg situation and Nebraska’s players being quarantined inside their locker room right now. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the B10 Tournament if Hoiberg or someone tests positive for COVID-19.
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@nwhawkfan yeah!
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@Texas-Hawk-10 maybe it’s the flu, he’d be awfully stupid w/his heart problem not to be seeing a dr.
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As of now, games involving bubble teams for Thursday 3/12 include:
ACC
NC State vs. Duke:. NCSU is probably in at this point, but another win over Duke would lock the Wolfpack in for sure.
American
Memphis vs. ECU: Memphis needs a run in this tournament to reach the NCAA’s and their journey starts against the Pirates in a must win game for Memphis.
Big 12
Texas vs. Texas Tech:. Winner should be locked into the NCAA’s and loser may very well be NIT bound.
Oklahoma vs. West Virginia: Sooners need a win to feel safe on Sunday
Big East
Marquette vs. Seton Hall: Marquette is a long shot for an at large right now, but wins over Seton Hall and Villanova could change that one.
Big 10
Indiana vs. Penn St.: Indiana got a much needed win today, but a win over an at large team in Penn St. should solidify Indiana into the dance.
Pac 12
UCLA vs. Cal: Bruins have to win to keep their hopes alive although they should feel better with Stanford losing tonight
Arizona St. vs. Colorado/Washington St.: Sun Devil’s are right there in that last 4 in, last 4 byes group so a loss may not eliminate them if it’s to Colorado. A win locks ASU into the dance.
SEC
Arkansas vs. South Carolina
SC must win to keep their slim hopes alive and a win for Arkansas should lock the Razorbacks into the dance.
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There was one automatic bid given today to Boston University as they won the Patriot League tonight.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 nice avatar!
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@approxinfinity Thank you.
Just in case anyone is wondering, the asterisk is not for the NCAA, it says COVID-19 at the bottom of the banner.
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One of the saddest parts of this is the players not getting to showcase their talents. A lot of these guys have been dreaming of playing in this tournament and winning it since they were kids. They started a journey in September and survived the bumps, bruises of the regular season. People were talking about Doke never playing in the B12 conference tournament. The dude was here for 4 years and played in one NCAA tournament. That ended up being a pretty good year by the way. Moss transfered in to become a champion. He did that but he’ll always wonder what would’ve happened this month. Dotson barely got his feet wet in March madness last year and seemed to have a chip on his shoulder to make it farther. I hate it for these young men.
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Appreciate your work @Texas-Hawk-10. This would’ve been a fun tournament.
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Seeing Dokes snapchats are heartbreaking
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Of the three who are likely to leave, this abrupt end probably impacts Moss the most. He never got to have a Malik Newman moment.
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@bskeet said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
Of the three who are likely to leave, this abrupt end probably impacts Moss the most. He never got to have a Malik Newman moment.
I hope he has the opportunity to come back.
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@kjayhawks said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
Seeing Dokes snapchats are heartbreaking
I can’t even look. I just can’t
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@FarmerJayhawk said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
@bskeet said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
Of the three who are likely to leave, this abrupt end probably impacts Moss the most. He never got to have a Malik Newman moment.
I hope he has the opportunity to come back.
Self currently submitting his trade request for Josell’s scholly
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Been watching ESPN a lot this morning because I have nothing better to do at this point, the discussion about granting an extra year of eligibility to impacted seniors has been one of the hot topics today.
Thinking about this practically and objectively, I don’t think I would support granting an extra year of eligibility for winter sports athletes because most of those sports were either already complete or very near completion.
The issue you’d run into for winter sports programs is a program like Iowa St. men’s basketball this season where they finished their season with a loss to Oklahoma St. and would not have competed in any of the postseason tournaments. Would it be fair to give those seniors an extra season of eligibility when they completed their entire senior season?
To me, the winter sports would be too messy to try and grant and extra year of eligibility when those sports were very near completion.
The spring sports are another issue though. Those seasons either hadn’t started yet or were still pretty close to the beginning of their seasons. Those are the sports I would look at the logistics of granting every athlete in those sports an extra year of eligibility and granting an exemption on scholarship limits in those sports.
Baseball for example allows 27 players to divide up 11.7 scholarships. Allow programs to go to 33 players for a recruiting cycle and grant 14.6 scholarships to keep the ratios in line with current NCAA limits.
Obviously not all of these athletes would take these deals because some like baseball players may get drafted and decide to begin their pro careers and some decide that because they are graduating this year, would rather transition into their post academic careers.
I would love to see this option extended to spring sports athletes should they want to go that route.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 It seems like the right hting to do is to not cancel the tournament. I wonder if they can walk that one back if things get under control.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I looked at ESPN thinking they might, you know, focus on the favorite to win it all and how it impacts them. Well nothing about our team which I guess doesn’t matter but is still proof ESPN has flyover country virus.
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I’m surprised they weren’t in Durham looking for a Zion update
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@approxinfinity said in 2020 Bubble Watch:
@Texas-Hawk-10 It seems like the right hting to do is to not cancel the tournament. I wonder if they can walk that one back if things get under control.
There’s several issues with trying to reschedule the tournament that made cancelling it the right call and Jay Bilas did a great job of explaining those issues. I’m not going to go into detail, I’m sure you can YouTube his statements because he made them on just every morning show on ESPN.
Basically it has to deal with time. Trying to rebook 14 venues when we don’t know when the tournament would even be able to safely take place is the biggest hurdle. Another hurdle wants going to be TV. Most people wanted the tournament postponed thought it could be played in May. That’s when season finales of shows are so now you’d be looking at rearranging the schedules for CBS/TBS/TNT to accommodate that. On top of that, when/if the NBA resumed around that time, there would be a chance to competing against the NBA Playoffs which TNT broadcasts. The other big hurdle would be the players themselves. Without a known date for when the NCAA Tournament could happen, guys like Dotson and Doke likely wouldn’t be in Lawrence at that point any way. They would be off in some other city training for the NBA Combine gearing up for that.
Postponing and playing at a later date is a great idea in theory, but when the actual logistics of making it happen come into play, cancelling was the only real option the NCAA had.
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They could’ve pushed pause and regrouped. Got some coaches and experts together. Pretty quick decision. This thing could get worse, no doubt. But? Maybe just play top 20 teams? Test teams. Something
