Bubble trouble

The art of blowing a perfect bubble has been a long-valued trait, ranking up there with the ability to land the immaculate belly flop or construct a beautiful macaroni necklace. Whether it's Doublemint, Big Red, Bubblicious' Gonzo Grape or their new advent, LeBron's Lightning Lemonade, being able to blow a beach ball-sized bubble vaulted you atop the playground hierarchy.\nOf course there was always that pig-tailed nuisance who took glee in deflating your constructed sphere of sugar, corn syrup and soy lecithin. \nWith the Hoosiers' overall record at 10-10, any of the team's next seven opponents lurk as that potential pig-tailed menace.\nWith only 65 slots -- including 31 automatic bids to conference champions -- IU is fighting scores of schools for one of the mere 34 at-large bids available -- many of which are already wrapped up by deserving teams. \nLast season, the NCAA Selection Committee chose three teams from the Big Ten, and this season only those same three teams (Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin) have solidified their cases for berths. Many experts are expecting the Big Ten to add at most two more teams from the conference, leaving Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State and IU battling for two spots that aren't even assured of coming to fruition, leaving the schools on that proverbial bubble. \nSaturday's home match-up against Minnesota has been billed by www.espn.com as the "Bubble Game of the Week," with the loser possibly blowing its NCAA tournament hopes a soft Valentine's Day kiss goodbye. \nA realist looks at the Hoosiers' upcoming schedule and sees a possible five wins -- reserved to losing at home against Michigan State and at Wisconsin. But with games on the road at Ohio State and Michigan, the Hoosiers will have to improve their conference road record of 1-4. \nAnd even if the Hoosiers can capture five wins in their last seven, there is no guarantee a 15-12 record even gets them a sniff of NCAA glory. With an RPI ranging from 90 to 56 according to various Web sites, IU lays claim to one marquee win (Wisconsin) and lost all six of their tough non-conference contests, leaving its resume resembling the equivalent of a McDonald's fry boy applying for head chef at Gibson's in Chicago where a porterhouse will run you $72. \nYou chew and chew, position your tongue and blow. The bubble inflates, bigger and bigger. You wave your arms to garner attention from your friends. A crowd of OshKosh B'Gosh-clad youngsters gathers who stare in admiration at the growing sphere. There! Creeping in the shadows under the slide adjacent to the swing set, your nemesis, who has the ability to pop your precious bubble, stirs. One foot out, pig-tails in sight, here she comes ...