By Michael Gross

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Duke, UNC, UVA

“Near Lock”

  Clemson, Louisville 

“Good Shape”

 NCST, Miami 

“Bubble”

Cal, Virginia Tech, SMU

“Fringe Bubble”

Stanford, Syracuse 

 “Near Lock”

           Louisville has won 5 in a row and is now 1 win away from securing a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

           Clemson is still in great shape for a bid despite back to back losses. If they can recover and beat Wake and FSU this week that’ll be enough. If they win 1 of them; they just need 1 win the rest of the way. If they lose both; they will drop down.

“Good Shape”

          What a week for Miami! They finally picked up a couple of quality wins and have moved up to “Good Shape”. They can further enhance their profile this week as they host Virginia Tech before traveling to Virginia. Winning either would put them in outstanding shape. If they win both that might be enough to secure a bid. They’ll drop back down though if they lose both.

           Tough week for NCST. Their 6 game winning streak came to a screeching halt as they got blown out by Louisville before blowing a late lead against Miami. Next up they’ll host North Carolina. A win probably moves them up while a loss might drop them back down.

“Bubble”

           After SMU beat UNC on January 3rd they were 12-2 with wins over UNC and Texas A&M. They seemed all but assured of a bid. Since then the Mustangs have gone 5-6 and the best win during that stretch was either at Wake Forest or home against Virginia Tech. They could really use a win over Louisville this week. Win or lose that game; they must beat Boston College this weekend.

          Virginia Tech had a very strange week last week. They went on the road and won at Clemson. That was awesome! Had they followed it up with a home win over FSU; they’d be in pretty good shape. Instead they got outscored in the 2nd half 53-27 and lost by 23 points at home. It basically leaves them where they were a week ago. They are right around the cut line. This week they play Miami on the road and then host Wake Forest. The only way they’ll move up is if they win both games. If they lose both; it’s hard to see them making it if they don’t beat UNC or UVA on the road.

          Cal beat Boston College to keep their hopes alive. They’ll have to beat Stanford at home this weekend in order to continue to keep their hopes alive. 

“Fringe Bubble”

          Stanford beat Boston College on the road and then led Wake Forest by 9 at the half on the road. However, they faded in the second half and lost by 5. They really need to beat Cal on the road this weekend to have a chance moving forward.

         Syracuse knocked off Cal and SMU at home last week to get back on the page. This week they have 2 big chances as they travel to Duke before hosting UNC. They gotta get 1 of them to have a chance moving forward.