CBB: Bubble Breakdown

Right Side of the Bubble:

• UCLA (19-10, 10-7)

• Louisville (19-10, 9-7)

• Florida State (19-10, 8-9)

• Florida (19-11, 10-7)

UCLA (19-10, 10-7) is riding a two-game losing streak at the worst possible time, but a win over rival USC would fix everything, and likely clinch a bid. It's not going to be easy to sweep the Trojans though, especially given their four consecutive victories. Louisville (19-10, 9-7) earned a much-needed upset over Virginia Tech last weekend, but it's not quite enough to get them to safety yet. The Cardinals have two games left, versus No. 1 Virginia tonight and then NC State over the weekend, and a win in either of them would help their resume a lot. Florida State (19-10, 8-9) would have liked to get another ranked win over Clemson, but they were not able to hold on in the end. The 'Noles are now just 5-5 in their last 10 games and need to close out the year with a win over Boston College. Florida (19-11, 10-7) is a strange team with wins over Gonzaga and Cincinnati and losses to Loyola-Chicago and Vanderbilt. One more win should clinch a berth, though.

Work to Do:

• Missouri (19-11, 9-8)

• Penn State (19-12, 9-9)

• Baylor (18-12, 8-9)

Missouri (19-11, 9-8) has had trouble with consistency, and that was no more apparent that the last month when they won five straight games, before losing three in a row. A win over Vanderbilt was important to get and a victory against Arkansas on Saturday would help the Tigers out a lot. With a loss against the Razorbacks, Missouri would need to win at least one SEC Tournament game. Penn State (19-12, 9-9) doesn't have a lot they can do now that the regular season is over, but that means a couple wins in the Big Ten Tournament is a necessity. The Nittany Lions have to beat Northwestern and upset Ohio State for the third time to have a realistic chance. Baylor (18-12, 8-9) blew out fellow-bubble team Oklahoma, 87-64, and a road win against projected tournament team, Kansas State, would go a long way into getting the Bears in. Keep an eye on Manu Lecomte, who averages 16.0 points per game, and will try to push Baylor into the Big Dance.

Wrong Side of the Bubble:

• Oklahoma (17-12, 7-10)

• Stanford (16-13, 10-6)

• Indiana (16-14, 9-9)

Oklahoma (17-12, 7-10) was a trendy Final Four pick in December and January, and now all of a sudden, they are squarely on the bubble. Trae Young has been tasked with doing too much on his own, and defenses have begun to figure him out. With how good the Sooners looked in November and December, they should get in if they can beat Iowa State and get a victory in the Big 12 Tournament. Stanford (16-13, 10-6) is on the verge only because of how well they've played in the Pac-12. Before that, the Cardinal were a mess, going 6-7 in non-conference play. They're third in the conference with games remaining against Arizona and Arizona State. If Stanford can pull off an upset, they'll have a realistic tournament chance. Indiana (16-14, 9-9) has a difficult strength of schedule, and it's one of the only reasons they're still in consideration. But the Hoosiers don't have much room for error, and need to reach the Big Ten title game to have an opportunity.

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.