NCAA Bracketology: MBB Looks to Avoid the Bubble, WBB Fighting to Host

Baylor’s men's basketball tries to stay away from the bubble in the final week of the regular season, while Nicki Collen’s squad looks to secure a hosting seed for the first two rounds.

Baylor MBB (17-12, 9-9)

• On3: 9-seed vs 8-seed Illinois
• RotoWire: 9-seed vs. 8-seed Ole Miss
• Bracket Madness: 9-seed
• NCAA.com: 9-seed vs. 8-seed Illinois
• ESPN: 10-seed vs 7-seed Ole Miss
• Bracket Matrix: 10-seed
• T-Rank: 10-seed
• Five-Star: 10-seed vs. 7-seed Louisvile
• CBS: 11-seed vs 11-seed Xavier (First Four)

Baylor is sitting in a spot right now where a 9-seed is as likely as a 10-seed at this very moment. Those two are the most likely outcomes, which means Baylor would avoid a play-in game. A very small amount of the brackets have the Bears as an 11-seed, but if that happened, it means they would very likely be in the play-in game.

I don’t see how any bracket has them at that level currently, but my guess is there is some projecting going on as the Bears hit the road to face TCU and then have a home matchup against Houston coming up this week. If Bayor loses both, they are squarely on the bubble and would likely need to win the first game of the Big 12 Tournament to have a chance to get in.

Baylor WBB (25-6, 15-3)

• ESPN: 5-seed vs. 12-seed Middle Tennessee
• CBS: 5-seed
• Her Hoops: 5-seed vs. 12-seed Montana State
• NCAA.com: 4-seed vs 13-seed Fairfield

According to most brackets, Baylor is on the line of hosting, waffling between a fourth or fifth seed. The thing holding the Bears back is the No. 63 schedule in the nation, which is unfortunate because they are No. 16 in the NET.

If the Bears lose in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament this weekend, Baylor will be a 5-seed or a 6-seed and will not host. If they win the first game over Iowa State, Cincy or Arizona State, they will lock in the 5-seed. If they win that game and get the chance to play Oklahoma State and win, then I think that locks up a 4-seed and hosting. If they win the Big 12 Tournament, especially if they beat TCU in the title game, then I think they could jump up to the 3-seed line with some help. There is a lot on the line for them in this upcoming conference tournament.