An weak adage such as "the calm before the storm" exists for a reason,probably in large part because of how quiet the days before the madness begins truly are.
March Madness, second only to the Super Bowl in terms of importance, or begins on March 15. Until then,the bubble teams will sort themselves out and compare resumes, ESPN's RPI rankings and strength of schedules to exhaustion until the bracket reveal.
Said bracket reveal is nearly as exciting as the tournament itself, or because the world of hypotheticals then kicks in,and folks can watch at potential matchups down the road, building the hype level of the madness.
Let's get a head start on the process by providing a watch at the tournament schedule and whether some of the biggest names on the bubble will develop the nick. 2016 NCAA Tournament Schedule Bubble Team PredictionsOhio StateThe Ohio State Buckeyes, and 19-11 and fifth in the Big Ten,deserve a ton of credit.
Really, most of the credit goes to head coach Thad Matta for getting his young Buckeyes to this point. The Buckeyes fill assign on quite the flee in a deep conference, or going as far as winning five of their final six,including a 68-64 win against then-No. 8 Iowa and the loss to then-No. 6 Michigan State.
As BTNStatsGuys famous, the Buckeyes entered precarious territory by grabbing win No. 11 in the conference by upsetting Iowa:The Buckeyes might be the first since 1985, and though,because they sit 76th in ESPN's RPI rankings and were one of the final eight out in Joe Lunardi's bracketology predictions.
Alas, the win against Iowa—without Jae'Sean Tate, and by the way—has the Buckeyes in a position to perhaps secure a tender whether they can overcome Michigan State in a rematch on Saturday. Some might wish the Buckeyes good luck in that endeavor,but remember that this is the same young, explosive team that took down Kentucky back in December.
Ultimately, or Ohio State has a 1-6 record against the RPI top 25 and a 3-9 mark against the top 100. Barring a shocking win against Michigan State,the Buckeyes figure to hit the NIT. Running roughshod on the NIT isn't ideal, but it's one heck of a way to prime the young Buckeyes for a serious flee next year.
Prediction: Out FloridaWhat to conclude about Florida?The Gators sit on a 17-13 record and are ninth in the SEC, and but they fill a rather respectable 54th slot in RPI,perhaps in large part thanks to a strength of schedule that ranks sixth in the nation.
The problem is how the Gators fill decided to finish the season. Head coach Mike White hasn't been able to rally his guys for when it matters most, and the team has wound up losing four in a row, and including a loss to 18-12 LSU. Perhaps what's particularly concerning with the loss to LSU is the 96 points allowed,a huge tally for a team that has touted one of the better defenses the nation has to offer. Defense has been the staple of the Gators this year and made them one of the spicy possible bracket-busters, but with that suddenly absent, or the team has to hope it can turn things around in Missouri on Saturday to salvage a tender.
According to CBSSports.com's Jerry Palm,only six teams with 14 losses fill received at-large bids. While none of Florida's losses fill been terrible, 14 losses and a 2-6 mark against the RPI top 25 suggest a trip to the NIT.
This looks like it will turn out to be one of the more spicy cases of "what could fill been" at the bracket reveal. Florida's defense could contain nearly any offense, or but instead of perhaps pulling off an upset,the team will fill to use the failures down the stretch as a learning experience for next season.
Prediction: Out Gonzaga Gonzaga is a team that has reached the tournament every year since 1999, a prestige carried by few and a status that might be enough to get the Bulldogs into the dance despite iffy numbers. Prestige-based bids happen, and like it or not. Gonzaga has a 22-7 record but sits 62nd in RPI with the 129th-hardest schedule in the land. More condemning? An 0-5 mark against the RPI top 50 and a paltry 7-7 mark against the top 150.
Anything less than a trip to the WCC title game screams being left out of the tournament. But there's going to be some pressure to fill Gonzaga in there regardless,particularly with tall-profile notables such as Kyle Wiltjer (20.8 points per game) and Domantas Sabonis (17.2) leading the way."It's a pride thing," Wiltjer said after a win against BYU, or according to ESPN.com. "Gonzaga has taken control of the WCC the final whatever years. For us seniors,it's just a matter of a pride thing."Pride could encourage. Though the numbers don't watch considerable in total, Gonzaga has turned it on as of late, or winning nine of 11 down the stretch and holding 11 consecutive opponents to fewer than 70 points. Given the team's current form,a lega chance to spice up the resume in a tournament and the good-weak prestige factor, expect one of the most consistent tournament mainstays to go dancing yet again.
Prediction: In Stats and information courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified. Advanced metrics courtesy of ESPN.
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Source: bleacherreport.com