Being on the bubble in March means cheering for people to lose.
Come the hour, come the man. Some situations give you a chance to do what you do best. For some of us, that’s hating. It’s not easy being a natural-born hater. Perhaps not surprisingly, it doesn’t really endear you to people. But then comes March. If your team is on the bubble, you need other teams to lose. It’s that simple. Someone else’s dream has to end for yours to go on.
Xavier is on 12 of the 85 brackets that updated today. That’s actually not a bad number, as the key for Xavier is winning, well really just not losing, the next two. The bubble is, as always, crowded. Other teams have to drop off it or Xavier has to do something that absolutely solidifies their spot, like making a three game run at the BET. Pre-BET, though, it would be nice to eliminate some of the chaff. Thanks to Bracket Dom on Twitter, here’s a quick list.
Nebraska can both help and harm Xavier this week. Ohio State is close to in and plays a Q1 road game after this one. A Q2 loss at home would do them no good. They were in a good spot until they dropped three of four. Continuing to aggregate losses could push them off more of the 74 brackets they are currently on. Or, you can look at it the other way. Nebraska’s NET is 57 right now. Two more losses this week could push them all the way off the bubble.
If you love a good mid-major story, skip this paragraph. Boise State is basically the team on the cut line right now, appearing on 29 of the 85 brackets on the matrix, the most of any team not projected as in the field. They have good Q1 wins, but they’ve also lost two Q3 games, one to a horrid Boston College team on a neutral. (BC is 200th in the NET. If they drop one more spot, they land in Q4. Pull for them to lose as well.) Dropping a Q4 to Air Force or even just losing Colorado St will damage them. Cheer against the Broncos.
Oklahoma is going to be a tough one for the committee. Their non-con SOS is below 300 and they are a pitiful 4-12 in the SEC (which is a stupid conference for them to be in). However, they’ve got five Q1 wins, only one bad loss and they’re going to get credit for playing in such a tough conference. You may not like it, but their conference record would be an idiotic reason to keep them out. They’re clinging to the right side of the bubble right now. It’s not so much that two more Q1 losses will hurt them as they would miss the chance to solidify their spot.
Finally, there is Arkansas. Cheering against John Calipari should be your default setting. They’ve got no bad losses and can’t add one this week, but they are another team that Xavier fans would prefer not to see seal their spot in the field.
Just for fun, you can also cheer against: UC, UNC (you know the committee will put them in if they can), Texas, Wake, SMU, and Georgia.