State of the Bubble: Mid-Eastern to Ohio Valley

How is your team fairing compared to others? Are there any locks that come out surprising to you? How far will Tom O'Connor and his band of bracketeers go to find an at-large? Who knows any of this? Well let me help out with a 6-part series about teams in the field, near the field, and teams losing contact with it. This is the State of the Bubble! Part Four!

Mid-Eastern

Likely Bids: 1
Likely Winner: Morgan State
The more succesful of the two D-I HBCU leagues this year, the MEAC's two likely frontrunners for the bid are going for their first ever. Morgan State is the current leader, but 2nd place Norfolk State beat them head-to-head back in January. Still you can't count out a surprise winner Raleigh(Think Delaware State, Hampton).

Missouri Valley

Bid Range: 1-3
Locked up: Drake
Bubble Riders: Creighton, Illinois State, Southern Illinois
Who didn't see this coming? The Salukis(and to a lesser extent the Blue Jays) are making an aggressive outside run to a possible second bid from the valley(and they may not need the auto bid). They have a big tussle with Illinois State(also a legit bubble rider) this weekend for the 2nd seed in Saint Louis. Oh, just to let you know, Drake is indeed a legit threat to reach the Sweet 16.

Mountain West

Bid Range: 1-3
Almost there: Brigham Young
Bubble Riders: Nevada-Las Vegas, New Mexico
Depending on how the conference tourney goes, this could be a one bid league, or it could be a three bid league. Either way, the Cougars figure to be prominent in the field of 65. New Mexico may have thrown away a bid back to the bubble by losing to the Cougs last night.

Northeast

Likely Bids: 1
Likely Winner: Robert Morris
In the NEC, homecourt advantage in the tourney means everything, and the Colonials, with wins over Sacred Heart and Wagner have the edge for now. Should they gain the top seed here, they'll be home for the duration of tourney.

Ohio Valley

Likely Bids: 1
Likely Winner: Austin Peay
The Govenors need one more win(or one Murray State loss) to clinch the outright RS crown, but the last two games are on the road. Also important is that the OVC is reseeding the semifinals this year, meaning the top seed will play the weakest 1st round winner.

Next up: Pacific-10 to Southland