It's time to take inventory of there all 351 teams in the country stand. Over a dozen or so posts today, we'll break down the resumes that matter in typical Bubble Watch style.
Time to start looking at other conferences. These are more going to be about the conference races than bubble chances, with one notable exception below.
First, we look at the MAC, which might have something special on its hand.
MAC
The favorite:
Buffalo (12-4) (3-1) RPI 45 SoS 154 - it's a shame their resume is truly barren of wins of any value. It seems like they're the best in a crowded field.
The contenders:
Bowling Green (11-4) (3-1) RPI 66 SOS 211
Akron (12-5) (3-1) RPI 122 SoS 176 (beat South Carolina and USC at a neutral)
Kent St (12-5) (3-1) RPI 126 SoS 204
Western Michigan (12-5) (3-1) RPI 115 SoS 233
Central Michigan (12-3) (2-2) RPI 139 SoS 342
Toledo (10-7) (2-2) RPI 127 SoS 153
Eastern Michigan (12-5) (1-3) RPI 176 SoS 279
God, how do you even begin to sort these teams out? First things first. CMU and EMU have SoS problems, and you wonder how long they'll stay in the race. Toledo and WMU should rule the MAC Westa, although Toledo is the one of these teams who is absorbing losses. Akron has the best resume in the East, and I have to expect Kent fades. Can Bowling Green keep pace with Buffalo and Akron? And more importantly, will this conference cannibalize itself? It seems highly likely. There should be a 2nd team making the NIT out of here, but God knows who it'll be.
No postseason projected:
Miami(OH) (6-11) (1-3)
Ohio (5-10) (0-4)
Ball St (7-8) (2-2)
Northern Illinois (7-8) (1-3)
CUSA
Bubble:
Old Dominion (15-2) (4-1) RPI 30 SoS 122
Vital signs: 5-2 R/N, non-con SoS 45, 2-0 vs. Top 50, 4-1 vs. Top 100
Signature wins: VCU, N-LSU, Richmond?
Bad losses: @WKU (eh), N-Illinois St (uh oh)
That win over VCU means everything right now. Great non-con SoS, a minimum of losses, a signature win, it all adds up to a fighting chance in March. But there are a lot of CUSA land mines in between then and now. They double as the conference favorites right now, but they do trail in the standings.
The contenders:
Western Kentucky (12-5) (5-0) RPI 73 SoS 94 - did win at Ole Miss
Louisiana Tech (14-4) (5-0) RPI 97 SoS 287 - has a win at UTEP in hand
UTEP (12-5) (4-1) RPI 80 SoS 119 - did beat N-Xavier
This should be a healthy 4-man race into March. All 4 have shown they're capable of nabbing quality wins against each other, so it might come down to a round-robin of the 4. Among them, La Tech has a win already in hand, and ODU is the first of the 4 not to hold serve against the bottom 10 in the league.
No postseason projected:
UAB (8-10) (4-1)
Middle Tennessee (10-8) (3-2)
Florida International (9-9) (2-3)
Texas-San Antonio (8-8) (2-3)
Charlotte (8-9) (2-3)
Rice (5-11) (2-3)
Florida Atlantic (8-8) (1-4)
North Texas (7-10) (1-4)
Southern Miss (5-11) (0-5)
Marshall (4-14) (0-5) - I don't know...I'm sure one of these teams will get above .500 and go to an EIEIO, but don't ask me to name who it'll be.
Ivy
The favorite:
Harvard (10-4) (1-0) RPI 59 SoS 89 - I can't give them bubble treatment when they lost @Arizona St, @BC, and N-Holy Cross, with no signature wins to balance.
The contenders:
Yale (11-6) (1-0) RPI 67 SoS 124 - hey, @UConn is a good win. Tons of bad losses, so nowhere near the bubble, but still. @UConn.
Columbia (9-6) (1-0) RPI 125 SoS 127 - some mild props to Columbia, who appear likely to be a solid #3 in the conference, but probably a full step behind Harvard/Yale.
No postseason projected:
Princeton (7-9) (1-0)
Brown (9-9) (0-1)
Cornell (8-9) (0-1)
Dartmouth (7-8) (0-1)
Penn (4-9) (0-1)
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