Men’s college basketball bubble teams fail to impress

Can someone remind the bubble teams that this is the time to start impressing the NCAA tournament selection committee?

So many on-the-fence teams are wasting opportunities that talk of a tournament expansion makes me cringe. These wart-filled teams need to learn how to apply a little cover-up and blush at the end of the season.

This means you, Rhode Island and Charlotte, which each lost three in a row recently. One team looks as if it’s in the makeover chair. Connecticut’s victory at Villanova puts the Huskies back in the conversation.

Here’s a look at which side of the bubble some teams are on:

Last four in

Illinois (17-9, ratings percentage index 71): Is there a harder team to figure out than the Illini? They beat Michigan State at home and Wisconsin on the road, but follow those victories up with losses to Ohio State at home and Purdue on the road. The losses are semi-acceptable considering they come against two of the best teams in the nation.

Finishing the season with wins at Ohio State and home against Wisconsin can help erase the memory of miserable early losses to Bradley and Utah. A strong overall record helps that ugly RPI.

Rhode Island (20-6, RPI 26): Rhode Island certainly hasn’t put on a good face lately. The Rams lost three straight to Richmond, Temple and St. Louis, the latter being the only “bad” loss among those. They snapped out of it with a victory against Fordham.

Rhode Island is 0-3 against RPI top-25 opponents and 4-6 against the top 100. The Rams’ best opportunity to impress comes with a home game against a fellow bubble team from the Atlantic 10, Charlotte, on March 3.

San Diego State (18-7, RPI 38): Wins over Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico will help. The Aztecs have a strong RPI, but losses to Wyoming in January and Pacific in November don’t help.

The Aztecs appear to realize the heat is on; they’ve won four straight and eight of 10. They can do themselves a big favor by winning at Brigham Young on Wednesday. It will also improve their reputation for lacking strong road wins.

Alabama Birmingham (21-5, RPI 31): The game the Blazers would like to underline in red and hand to the NCAA selection committee is a Dec. 22 home victory against Butler. They earned some solid wins against Cincinnati and Tulsa at home and are 6-4 against teams with top 100 RPI.

Their 8-3 road record should help, and the Blazers have a manageable end of schedule at Central Florida, home against Tulane and Memphis and at Texas El Paso.

Last four out

Charlotte (18-8, RPI 55): Like fellow Atlantic 10 bubble-sitter Rhode Island, Charlotte hasn’t used the end of the season to make a proper push. After winning seven straight, the 49ers have lost consecutive games to Dayton, Duquesne and Xavier.

Beating Temple at home, Richmond on the road and Louisville on the road improves their standing. Seven of their eight losses came against RPI top-50 opponents.

Cincinnati (15-11, RPI 56): The Bearcats can point to victories against top 50 RPI teams Vanderbilt and Maryland and sweeping fellow Big East bubble team Connecticut. But lately, Cincinnati is letting its opportunities slip away.

A loss against DePaul on Wednesday has to mean the Bearcats are out. Wins at West Virginia, against Villanova and at Georgetown would be a fresh coat of paint on Cincinnati. It will also clear up their questionable 2-7 road record.

Connecticut (17-11, RPI 45): Only 2-6 in road games, the Huskies need to register some head-turning wins away from Storrs. They started that with a victory at Villanova. Match that with quality home wins against Texas and West Virginia (on Monday) and Connecticut deserves a look.

Road games remain against Notre Dame and South Florida. A strong finish and a good tournament run could put the Huskies in.

St. Mary’s (21-5, RPI 46): The Gaels are about as blah as they come, but that’s better than looking ugly.

Their only solid win is against San Diego State. That can’t really be described as impressive considering San Diego State is on the bubble as well.

Notable changes from last week:

* Marquette has probably done enough to be included in the field.

* Siena lost a big chance to impress by losing to Butler in a Bracketbuster game and is out.

* Top-seeded teams: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Purdue.

* No. 2-seeded teams: West Virginia, Kansas State, Villanova, Duke.

sryan@tribune.com