With March Madness just around the corner, some teams have to be feeling the heat that comes with Selection Sunday. In my previous two articles, we took a look at eight different teams that have a chance to make it to the tournament but are currently on the bubble. In this article, we'll take a look at four teams that would make the field if the tournament ended today but would be out with poor finishes.
1. Syracuse.
Syracuse has one of the more confusing resumes of any team on the bubble. They have early losses to St. John's, Georgetown, UCONN, and Boston College.
But the Orange also have quality wins over Florida State, UVA, and Miami. Their current resume is good enough to make the field, but losses in their remaining three games would put the team in a precarious position.
Final Verdict: Win at least one of last three games and they're in.
2. Kansas State.
Another Big 12 bubble team, Kansas State has enough of a resume to land safely in the tournament field right now. The team owns wins over Baylor, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State. Thankfully the team doesn't have any really bad losses, which means that Kansas State would be safely in the tournament right now. There are landmines in the final four games of the year, and Kansas State will need to win two of four to feel safe on Selection Sunday.
Final Verdict: Win two of four to make tournament.
3. USC.
USC has 21 wins to go with only six losses and would need to have a major collapse to miss the NCAA tournament this year. USC has quality wins over SMU and UCLA. Additionally, USC hasn't really lost any games they weren't supposed to. It would take a major collapse for USC to miss the tournament that would include losses in their last four games of the year.
Final Verdict: Win one of last four to secure spot in tournament.
4. California.
Another Pac-12 squad that will likely be in the field this season is California. The Bears boast great talent and have a quality win over USC. Unfortunately, California also has losses to SDSU and Stanford, which has a negative impact on their bearing as a bubble team. All will be forgiven if they can get a win over Oregon at home in one of their last games of the year.
Final Verdict: Beat Oregon or win three of last four to make tournament.
