On the NCAA Tournament bubble is the last place these teams expected they'd be in late February. But it's not too late to make amends for past failures. Here's what each team needs to do to get off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament.
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Connecticut (17-9 overall; 6-7 Big East)
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The last time the Huskies went to the NIT, they were led by a freshman named Richard Hamilton. The 2001 Huskies are similarly led by a freshman phenom in Caron Butler. And, if UConn doesn't do something spectacular in the last week of the season and in the Big East tournament, the Huskies are headed to the NIT again.
Why? Because UConn is young, and their inexperience at handling tough situations is evident.
UConn has hit the wall, and their inexperience shows most on the road, where
the Huskies are 2-7 and have let games slip away at crunch time. When
playing well, UConn can beat almost anyone. If they want to make a run to
get a bid, the Huskies need to add to their quality win total by getting better leadership from Albert Mouring and Edmund Saunders.
Brown can score in almost any way imaginable, and rebounds and goes off in transition with ease. Fellow freshman Taliek Brown needs to play without fear at the point. And a real key could be the toughness that juco transfer Johnnie Selvie can bring.
But, like everything else, all the above needs to be consistent.
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Temple (15-12 overall; 9-4 Atlantic 10)
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The Owls were a middling 15-12 entering the week, and in real danger of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years. The Owls are far better than their record, which included a December slate that was tougher than dodging the bullets from a firing squad.
Even with a tough schedule, Temple will have problems overcoming the fact it has not beaten the best teams in the Atlantic 10 (St. Joseph's and Xavier), and lost to DePaul in January. Winning its final three games against Dayton, LaSalle and George Washington would give the Owls 18 wins into the Atlantic 10 Tournament, but to get those wins, the Owls need to defend the way John
Chaney wants them to.
Temple does not have an athletic frontcourt player like Lynard Stewart or Lamont Barnes to run the baseline in its 1-3-1 match-up zone. So, instead, it's been running a 2-3 zone with Ron Rollerson and Kevin Lyde. Temple needs to defend the 3-point shot better and execute their complicated slides to keep the ball out of the middle. On the offensive end, Quincy Wadley and Lynn Greer need to take better shots so that Lyde and Rollerson can get offensive rebounding position.
Temple is not out of it yet, but it's defense will need to get it in the NCAA field.
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Iowa (17-8 overall; 6-6 Big Ten)
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Look, we all know that injuries are part of the game, but how unfair does this scenario seem? Luke Recker sat out all of last season, and watched his team struggle to a 14-16 record. When healthy and in the lineup, Iowa sprinted out to a 17-4 mark, and were tied for the Big Ten lead. The question was not whether the Hawkeyes would make the NCAA Tournament, but how high the seed would be.
Since Recker went down with a broken kneecap, Iowa has lost four in a row, and could lose their remaining games as well. Iowa has eight wins against the RPI Top 50, including victories over Iowa State, Illinois and Missouri. All this should make the Hawkeyes a tournament team if Luke Recker comes back before the selections are made.
In the meantime, Steve Alford needs a third scorer to step to the fore and help Dean Oliver and Reggie Evans. Defenses can key on those two and make the others beat them, and so far, the others have not accepted that challenge. Without a role player breaking out of a role in a hurry, Iowa will continue to struggle to score, and will put too much pressure on its defense to get stops.
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Wake Forest (17-8 overall; 6-7 ACC)
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I don't think the Deacons are a bubble team. I think they will be in the NCAA Tournament. But Wake Forest has sure made everybody wonder a bit heading down the stretch.
Wake won its first 12 games of the season, and looked invincible against Virginia and in the first 39 minutes in a one-point loss
at North Carolina. Since the Deacons saw their own blood at Carolina, Wake has lost 7 of 12, including six of its last 10 games. And they still have Duke and N.C. State on the road.
To get back on the track to the dance, not to mention that of being a contender, Wake Forest needs to score the ball more consistently, and get Darius Songaila the ball. Songaila is a terrific post player who can face up to 18 feet and knock down shots. He plays hard all the time. He is combative and aggressive. His teammates simply need to look for him more often in the offense, while the officials need to look somewhere else and keep the whistle off of him.
Wake Forest also needs to get better guard play, and either Broderick Hicks or Ervin Murray needs to take over the team when in the game. With weapons like Songaila, Josh Howard, Craig Dawson and Robert O'Kelley, the
point guard needs to take over and make the right decisions with that group.
Earlier in the season, the Deacons played with abandon, and need to get that attitude back. There is nothing to protect, only prizes to go after.
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