Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma on NCAA Bracketology Bubble
Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma are all in ‘bubble’ territory with the latest released of ESPN’s NCAA Men’s Tournament Bracketology on Tuesday.
Oklahoma is one of the ‘last four byes,’ Iowa State is one of the ‘last four in’ and Kansas State is one of the ‘next four out.’
So, what’s happening? ESPN’s Joe Lunardi provided his analysis:
Don’t look now, but the Big 12 — once touted in this space as headed toward a record bid percentage from a conference — is suddenly staring at a number of bubble teams. Iowa State has fallen to “Last Four In” status, as well as to the bottom of the league standings. Oklahoma has dropped 8 of 11 and is by no means an NCAA lock. Kansas State has reached the bubble, but plays three of its last five on the road. It’s very possible the Big 12 will suffer from the proverbial “too much of a good thing” by Selection Sunday.
Lunardi’s latest 68-team field has seven Big 12 teams in the field. Selection Sunday is on March 13.
Other takeaways:
Moving up: Texas Tech moved up to a No. 3 seed. The Red Raiders dropped to a No. 4 last Friday.
Moving down: Texas fell to a No. 5 seed after a week in which it beat Kansas but lost to Baylor. TCU dropped to a No. 9 seed. Iowa State dropped to a No. 11 seed and into a ‘First Four’ game against future Big 12 rival BYU.
Holding steady: Baylor, Kansas and Oklahoma all held steady.
How the bracket looks for the Big 12 as of Feb. 15:
West Region (San Francisco)
No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 Montana State
East Region (Philadelphia)
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 North Texas
No. 11 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 Arkansas
Midwest Region (Chicago)
No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 Long Beach State
South Region (San Antonio)
No. 2 Baylor vs. No. Texas State
No. 9 TCU vs. No. 8 Boise State
No. 11 Iowa State/BYU winners vs. UConn
Future Big 12 members
East Region (Philadelphia)
No. 4 Houston vs. No. 13 Vermont
South Region (San Antonio)
No. 11 Iowa State/BYU winners vs. UConn
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
