They are in the stretch. In less than two weeks, the first conference tournaments will begin, and three weeks from Sunday, we will know which 68 teams will play meaningful games into the third week of March.
Before we look at this weekend’s Red, White, and Blue ratings’ selections, let’s take a closer look at “The Bubble.”
As of today, we estimate that 24 teams are currently part of “The Bubble.” Of those 24 teams, 14 of them are currently listed as “in the Dance,” and 10 are listed as NIT-Bound.
There is a catch here. The good side of The Bubble tends to shrink as conference tournament play continues. Whereas some teams play their way onto The Bubble and into the discussion, the number of available places for Bubble teams shrinks when a team not in the discussion gets hot and wins an automatic bid, reducing the number of spots for teams in the gray area.
As a for instance, let’s say that North Carolina State upsets three teams and wins the ACC Tournament this year. The Wolf Pack would obviously receive an automatic bid, while the other big ACC teams already considered in the field but not as a Bubble team also receive bids. This causes one Bubble team that is listed as in to be bumped to see their bubble burst.
Here is a look at our 24 Bubblers, showing which 14 would be drinking at the Dance bubbler today.
If you don’t know what a bubbler is, ask somebody from Wisconsin.
| Team | Conf. | Overall | RPI | Vs. T50 | Vs.T100 | Rd RPI | L12 | Seed | Weekend |
| Connnecticut | 9-4 | 19-7 | 36 | 3-3 | 7-7 | 21 | 9-3 | 7 | at Cincinnati |
| Providence | 7-7 | 19-8 | 37 | 2-5 | 8-5 | 13 | 5-7 | 7 | OFF |
| Syracuse | 8-6 | 18-9 | 39 | 5-6 | 7-8 | 43 | 8-4 | 8 | vs. Pitt. |
| Colorado | 8-6 | 19-8 | 33 | 3-7 | 7-8 | 38 | 7-5 | 8 | at UCLA |
| Pittsburgh | 7-6 | 18-7 | 41 | 2-5 | 5-7 | 5 | 6-6 | 9 | at Syracuse |
| Wisconsin | 8-5 | 16-10 | 48 | 4-5 | 8-6 | 24 | 8-4 | 9 | vs. Illinois |
| Seton Hall | 8-5 | 18-7 | 44 | 1-4 | 7-7 | 41 | 7-5 | 10 | at St. John’s |
| Michigan | 9-5 | 19-8 | 54 | 1-3 | 8-8 | 42 | 7-5 | 10 | at Maryland |
| Oregon St. | 6-7 | 15-9 | 32 | 6-5 | 8-9 | 60 | 5-7 | 10 | at Oregon |
| Texas Tech | 6-7 | 16-9 | 28 | 5-7 | 7-8 | 61 | 5-7 | 11 | at Okla. St. |
| Cincinnati | 9-5 | 19-8 | 60 | 3-4 | 5-7 | 34 | 8-4 | 12 | Vs. U Conn |
| Temple | 10-3 | 16-9 | 66 | 4-5 | 6-7 | 96 | 9-3 | 12 | at Houston |
| Butler | 7-7 | 18-8 | 58 | 2-6 | 6-7 | 28 | 7-5 | 12 | at Villanova |
| Alabama | 7-6 | 16-9 | 30 | 4-5 | 7-8 | 35 | 7-5 | 12 | vs. Miss. St. |
| Tulsa | 9-5 | 17-9 | 45 | 2-4 | 6-8 | 55 | 9-3 | 1st out | at Cent. Fla. |
| Clemson | 9-5 | 16-10 | 89 | 5-5 | 7-7 | 99 | 8-4 | 2nd out | vs. N. C. St. |
| Saint Mary’s | 12-3 | 21-4 | 67 | 0-1 | 4-2 | 97 | 9-3 | 3rd out | at Gonzaga |
| Florida St. | 6-8 | 16-10 | 61 | 2-7 | 7-10 | 68 | 6-6 | 4th out | at Va. Tech |
| LSU | 9-4 | 16-10 | 81 | 3-5 | 6-7 | 50 | 7-5 | 5th out | at Tennessee |
| Vanderbilt | 7-6 | 15-11 | 62 | 3-7 | 4-9 | 75 | 7-5 | 6th out | vs. Georgia |
| St. Bonaventure | 9-4 | 17-7 | 49 | 2-2 | 4-5 | 71 | 8-4 | 7th out | at Dayton |
| Geo. Washington | 8-5 | 19-7 | 46 | 2-3 | 4-4 | 76 | 7-5 | 8th out | at U Mass |
| Creighton | 8-6 | 17-10 | 83 | 2-6 | 4-9 | 77 | 7-5 | 9th out | OFF |
| Washington | 7-7 | 15-11 | 73 | 5-5 | 10-12 | 53 | 5-7 | 10thout | vs. Stanford |
| Games Scheduled for: | Saturday, February 20, 2016 | |||
| Home | Visitor | Red | White | Blue |
| Louisville | Duke | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| North Carolina | Miami (Fla.) | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| Syracuse | Pittsburgh | 6 | 5 | 7 |
| Virginia Tech | Florida St. | -3 | -3 | -5 |
| Clemson | North Carolina St. | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Georgia Tech | Notre Dame | -2 | -1 | -4 |
| Texas | Baylor | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| West Virginia | Oklahoma | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Kansas St. | Kansas | -5 | -2 | -7 |
| Iowa St. | TCU | 17 | 18 | 15 |
| Oklahoma St. | Texas Tech | -1 | -2 | -2 |
| Georgetown | Xavier | -4 | -3 | -8 |
| DePaul | Marquette | -2 | -5 | -3 |
| Villanova | Butler | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| Rutgers | Penn St. | -6 | -7 | -4 |
| Nebraska | Ohio St. | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Indiana | Purdue | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Washington | Stanford | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Oregon | Oregon St. | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| UCLA | Colorado | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| South Carolina | Florida | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Vanderbilt | Georgia | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| Alabama | Mississippi St. | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| Auburn | Ole Miss | -4 | -5 | -3 |
| Tennessee | LSU | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Texas A&M | Kentucky | 1 | 3 | -3 |
| Arkansas | Missouri | 10 | 10 | 8 |
| Gonzaga | Saint Mary’s | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Games Scheduled for: | Sunday, February 21, 2016 | |||
| Home | Visitor | Red | White | Blue |
| Wake Forest | Boston College | 9 | 10 | 8 |
| St. John’s | Seton Hall | -12 | -14 | -15 |
| Maryland | Michigan | 3 | 8 | 9 |
| Wisconsin | Illinois | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| USC | Utah | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Washington St. | California | -9 | -10 | -6 |
The Pi-Rate Ratings 