Welcome to Burst of Breakthrough. The March Madness season is right around the corner and before we can crown anyone champion, we gotta figure out who is punching their ticket to the Big Dance. I will list three teams that I believe will make it into the Bubble and have a shot of winning a national championship.
Up first are the Arkansas Razorbacks. Coming out of the jam-packed SEC, Arkansas stands at 18-12 and is 8-10 in conference play. Led by legendary and first-year head coach John Calipari, the once preseason hopefuls are on the edge of elimination. The team posted a (7-10) quad 1 record and was ranked the fourth lowest in strength of record of the SEC. Late season wins against Kentucky and Mississippi State propelled their hopes of getting in and making a bid. They take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in their first-round game of the SEC Tournament, and with a win, they should be sealed into a spot.
Next up are the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are in a prime position for a bubble spot but have more work than Arkansas. They are 17-14 and have gone 9-11 in the Big Ten. Ohio State is battling teams such as Nebraska and Indiana to take one of the four coveted spots. While having a weak quad one record, much of that is due to their strength of schedule, in which they rank 11th in the nation. To secure a spot, they would likely need two or three wins in the Big Ten Tournament or see competing teams lose early on.n They tip off against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday.
Finally, let’s take a look at the Boise State Broncos. Over the past decade, at least one non-power-five team has made a bid for the bubble, and the Mountain West Conference is making another strong case this year. Boise State is on the outside looking in, with a record of 22-9 and a strong quad one record of 4-2. Their path to getting selected sounds simple but challenging. They would have to win the entire Mountain West Tournament or just make it to the finals. Their quest starts against the San Diego State Aztecs on Thursday.
The men’s tournament bracket selection occurs on Sunday evening, and many teams’ bubble chances could burst or will live to see another day.