NCAA Tournament Bubble Watch: Michigan State gets it done; Syracuse stumbles
Spartans should be in the NCAA Tournament with one more win; Orange road woes might be their undoing
By
Jerry Palm
•
1 min read
This is the last weekend of the regular season for some of the smaller conferences, but for the majors there is still a week left for teams to prove they belong in the NCAA Tournament.
The bubble is starting to shrink and a few teams were in action Sunday hoping to stay alive or get that big win to get closer to safety.
Michigan State 84, Wisconsin 74
Michigan Stateâs freshmen had a great senior day in a win over Wisconsin. That is another quality for the Spartans, but they are not out of the woods yet. MSU is a home-court hero, and while it is not as bad on the road as Syracuse is, the last two road games saw the Spartains get pounded by a combined 47 points. The road is where this young team is much more likely to struggle. Win one of the last two, and Michigan State will be in the tournament for a 20th consecutive year.
Louisville 88, Syracuse 68
Syracuse has been consistent this season. The Orange pretty much always lose on the road. Sunday was no exception as the Orange fell at Louisville. Syracuse has lost four of its last five and is now just 17-13 with an RPI in the mid-70s. That is not going to get it done. The Georgia Tech game to end the regular season is must win. And, of course, the Orange will win because it is at home. Then we shall see how the Orange fare in the ACC tournament. Some work will need to be done there.
Middle Tennessee 66, UAB 64
The Blue Raiders clinched the outright Conference USA championship with the win over UAB. It was nearly a disastrous result for MTSU as it needed a shot with fewer than five seconds left for the win. The Blue Raiders are 24-4, but three of those losses are bad ones. A fourth bad loss would really be pushing their luck.
