Bubble watch

Illinois [16-9 (5-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 17] After back-to-back road defeats at Indiana and Michigan, coupled with the Feb. 5 home loss to Northwestern, Bruce Weber's team is tenuously holding on to its at-large status. Those three losses were Illinois' fourth, fifth and sixth in their past seven games. If it wasn't for two strange outlier wins (42-41 over Michigan State; Brandon Paul's 43-point night against Ohio State), this team probably would be way off the bubble right now. As it is, with this so-so RPI and losing record against the top 100, not to mention a difficult remaining schedule, the Illini have to turn things around quickly.

Eamonn Brennan