Bubble Watch 2/3: MVC edition

Well, at least they've got the top 2 going for them.

The Lockbox

Wichita St (19-3) (9-1) RPI 12 SoS 66
Vital signs:  8-3 R/N, non-con SoS 15, 2-2 vs. Top 50, 6-3 vs. Top 100
Signature wins:  Seton Hall...Tulsa?  @Memphis?
Bad losses:  N-GWU, I guess
Go look at that non-con SoS, and proceed to shut up about their schedule strength.  No, seriously, the real secret here is they're at Duke-levels of bad team avoidance.  The worst non-con opponent they had was RPI 214.  Only 4 games outside the top 100.  That's how you build a schedule, and curry favors from the selection committee.  Losing your three toughest games (@Utah, @UNI, N-GWU) does leave an issue, but that's a seeding one, not a selection one.

Northern Iowa (20-2) (9-1) RPI 18 SoS 112
Vital signs:  9-2 R/N, non-con SoS 91, 1-1 vs. Top 50, 5-2 vs. Top 100
Signature wins:  Wichita, N-Iowa, @SFA
Bad losses:  @Evansville looks marginal
The other loss is @VCU, by the way, so don't get cute trying to find holes in this resume.  Those 9 R/N wins are probably what carries this well past any bubble discussion, and they have 2 wins better than Wichita's best win (maybe 3, depending on how you feel about SFA).  Isn't life easy when you always win the games you're supposed to?

Bubble

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NIT watch

Evansville (15-6) (6-4) RPI 92 SoS 144 - Boy, things fall off a cliff after the top 2.  Yeah, UE beat UNI!  It's also their only top 100 win.  I can't see this making the NIT, especially without a clear top 3 in the conference.

CBI/CIT watch

Illinois St (13-8) (6-4) RPI 93 SoS 94 - Too many black marks to make their win over Old Dominion count.
Indiana St (10-11) (7-3) RPI 181 SoS 126 - Interesting because their non-con was beyond horrible, but if they're 3rd in the MVC, these tournaments won't ignore them...right?  I have no idea.
Loyola (11-9) (3-7) RPI 118 SoS 106 - Boy, talk about falling off a cliff.  There was actually a non-horrible non-con in here (N-Boise, @Kent St) that's being lost.

No postseason

By the way, these standings are as weird as you'll see.  Two clear favorites at 9-1, 3 teams going for 3rd at 7-3, 6-4, and 6-4....and then the bottom 5.  We met Loyola above, but Missouri St (3-7), Drake (3-7), Bradley (2-8), and Southern Illinois (2-8) are staging one heck of a pillow fight.  6th place could legitimately be 6-12 in this conference.  Remember, the 6th seed in 2006 was 11-7 and a NIT team.