UW on the Bubble

If UW wasn’t already on the bubble, they are now sitting squarely on it. They could easily be playing in the NIT tournament as they could be in the NCAA tournament. A lot hangs on their success in the PAC-10 tournament this weekend. A win or two could be the difference at a spot in the NCAAversus the NIT. Their first matchup is against WSU a team they have lost to twice this season, and both times UW played sloppy and ugly and basically gave WSU the win.

If they can get through the Cougars, they have the opportunity of playing either UCLA, Arizona State, or Oregon. Oregon is the only one of those 3 teams that has beat UW this season. It wouldn’t be unfeasible for UW to win two games in the PAC-10 tournament to make it into the NCAA bracket.

Here is a look at where UW sits in the NCAA tournament right now:

Joe Lundari of ESPN has them still in the tournament but barely with the possibility that if WSU beats them, USC or WSU could be the third team to represent the PAC-10

Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com had this to say about UW and USC in the bracket:

"For much of the season, Washington was cruising along, posting solid efficiency numbers and looking like the class of the Pac-10. Then the Huskies started losing bad games in the Pac-10 — at Stanford, at Oregon, at Oregon State — and made us second-guess whether this team maybe, just maybe, wasn’t all that good after all. Thanks to Saturday night’s home loss versus USC, the Huskies are now a mere 11-7 in the Pac-10. Their best wins are home victories over UCLA and Arizona. The best nonconference win is against Long Beach State. Their tournament profile falls far short of their talent. It almost makes you wonder … does UW really deserve the at-large deference its been receiving all season? Or does this team deserve to be on the bubble after all? Meanwhile…the Trojans maybe — just maybe — deserve a spot in the NCAA tournament. They certainly deserve a spot in the conversation. USC fans have been touting their team’s resurgence for weeks, and with good reason. The Trojans have now won five of their past six, including a Feb. 24 win over Arizona and Saturday’s win at Washington. They also have nonconference wins against Texas and at Tennessee. Kevin O’Neill’s team still has a lot of really bad losses on its resume — and we mean really bad — but if it can make a run in the Pac-10 tournament and get another quality win or two (not easy to come by in the Pac-10, I know), they might just sneak into the Big Dance after all. At the very least, the Trojans deserve a second look."

There are a few things wrong in what Brennan said, UW’s most impressive wins are not against UCLA and Arizona at home, though those are great. UW beat UCLA and USC on the road, they also beat beat Virginia in the Maui Invitational and that is a more impressive victory than their smashing of Long Beach State.

CBS Sports has UW still in at a 10 seed but also they have a symbol recognizing that UW is still on the bubble

Rivals.com says this about UW

"This hurts for Washington. The Huskies still look to be in OK shape for an at-large bid, but they lost for the third time in five games. They also have to play archrival Washington State in their first game in the Pac-10 tourney. Washington State swept the season series and must win to have any kind of at-large shot of its own. As for USC, the Trojans crept onto the periphery of the bubble. They now have five top-50 wins, including two on the road, and have won five of their past six overall."

"It looks like anything short of winning the PAC-10 tournament would be a gamble, but two wins should do it."