March Madness: Bubble Mania!

Mid-major conference tournaments are under way, so now power conference bubble teams officially are in scoreboard-watching mode. Now the mid-major scene doesn't have as many "bid stealers" as in the past, but there are some definite root-for squads if your team has been hovering over the bubble scene the past month.

Though I am firmly in the camp of rather seeing, say, a 29–5 Belmont as an at-large over an Auburn at 19–15 who couldn't even go above .500 in their conference. But I'm also a realist & know that could be far-fetched at this point to see.

I would say on the mid-major scene the following teams want a Miami (Ohio) to lose out or win out, a Saint Louis to win the A-10, a Santa Clara to lose out, & Utah State to win the Mtn West. These are four clear needs for bubble teams. After that it gets extremely dicey on if an Akron, Belmont, Tulsa, or a South Florida could sneak in as at-larges.

Again though, it feels unfair to those mid-majors, as over the past few weeks the power conference bubble teams just feel to be lose-offs. But real college basketball fans know how it works, if a bubble team gets 2 wins in their conference tourney they have VERY high odds to find themselves dancing this March. I don't make the rules, I just know that history repeats itself in these scenarios.

Of course I have to mention the unmentionable... there is always the major conference wildcard of a completely out team catching fire in their conference tournament. We all remember 2021 Oregon State winning the Pac-12 & stealing a bid.

Coach Day's Current Power Conference Bubble

As we complete all regular seasons & even hand out a couple of auto bids this weekend, above are the power conference-only bubble teams to keep a close eye on as we go into full-blown conference tourney week. The bubble is ever-changing, let's not forget, one game can make or break your chances, many times a game not even within your team's control.

This is why we March!