We touched up on the men’s bubble watch earlier so now let’s discuss the women. I listed all the teams ranked 37 to 50, excluding the conference champions, however both No. 37 Wichita State and No. 38 NC State are probably both going to get in since there is a few point drop off down to No. 40 Clemson. The at-large cutoff is expected to be at 41 with eight conference champions currently ranked inside the top 41 so that means out of the list of teams from 40 to 50 there are only going to be two spots open to fill.
#37 Wichita State – the Shockers finished up play last weekend in the AAC Tournament so as long as several of the teams below them don’t make a big run in their conference tournaments they should be ok.
#38 NC State – the Wolfpack plays Clemson on Thursday in the 8 vs. 9 matchup at the ACC Tournament in Cary. Clemson won the regular season meeting 4-3 in a match that saw the Tigers rally from a 0-3 deficit. NC State is probably going to make it win or lose however a win would guarantee it. If NC State lost, Clemson would pass them however if Clemson fell in the next round NC State likely would pass them back. Several other teams in the 40s would have to really do well to catch up to NCST. (def. Clemson 4-1; lost to Duke 5-0)
#40 Clemson – see NC State however if Clemson loses they’d be in jeopardy of being passed since several teams would be within a few tenths of a point. Fortunately for Clemson several of the teams down below will be rather heavy underdogs in their conference tournaments. (lost to NCST 4-1)
#41 Rice – the Owls finished up play last weekend by falling in the final of the Conference USA Tournament. Rice is going to be right on the border and will probably be either the last team in or the first team out so they want everybody down below to lose.
#42 Kansas State – the Wildcats are the No. 6 seed at the Big XII Tournament and will be pretty heavy underdogs to No. 3 seed Texas Tech. K-State lost the regular season meeting in Lubbock 4-0 and if they lose this one there is a good chance they’ll end up on the outside looking in (lost to Texas Tech 4-1)
#43 Washington– the Huskies play Colorado today in an opening round match at the Pac-12 Tournament in Ojai. A win over the Buffs wouldn’t move the needle at all so UW will have to upset the top seed Stanford to punch its ticket. UW rolled Colorado 4-0 in the regular season while they lost a close 4-2 match to Stanford just two weeks ago. (def. Colorado 4-1; lost to Stanford 4-0)
#44 Nebraska – the Huskers are the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis and will play No. 3 Illinois in the quarterfinals on Friday. If Nebraska beats Illinois they are in; if they lose they are out. The teams did not play each other in the regular season (lost to Illinois 4-0).
#45 Cal – the Bears play Washington State in the 4 vs. 5 match on Thursday. Cal won the regular season meeting 4-3 in match played two weeks ago in Pullman however Cal was pretty dominant in its four singles wins. The loser is definitely out while the winner would need to beat Stanford in the semifinals to be guaranteed a bid. (lost to Washington State 4-3)
#48 Washington State – see Cal though if WSU won and then lost to Stanford they’d be right on the border and could possibly get in with some losses by other bubble teams. (def. Cal 4-3; lost to Stanford 4-0)
#49 USC – the Trojans are in action today against Arizona in the 6 vs. 11 match at the Pac-12 Tournament. I believe for USC to make it they’ll need to advance all the way to the final which would also include wins over Arizona State and UCLA. I don’t think wins over Arizona and ASU would be enough though it would get them really close. (def. Arizona 4-1; lost to Arizona State 4-2)
#50 Old Dominion – the Monarchs finished up play last weekend in the Conference USA Tournament and unfortunately for them there is no way they’ll be able to move up to 41.
Outside Top 50
Oklahoma – the Sooners need to beat Iowa State on Thursday in the 7 vs. 10 match and then upset Oklahoma State on Friday. If they can pull that off they are in; if they lose either they are done. (def. Iowa State 4-0; lost to Oklahoma State 4-1)
Purdue – the Boilermakers need to make it to the final of the Big Ten Tournament to secure their bid – getting to the final would include wins over Ohio State and Northwestern. Anything short of the final wouldn’t be enough (lost to Ohio State 4-1)
Boston College – the Eagles need to beat Pitt today in the 10 vs. 15 match and then knock off Syracuse tomorrow. If they did that they’d be right on the border even with a loss to Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals. (lost to Pitt 4-2)
Virginia Tech – the Hokies need to advance all the way to the ACC semifinals to make it in – getting to the semis would include wins over Louisville, Florida State, and Miami (def. Louisville 4-1; def. Florida State 4-3; lost to Miami 5-1)
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