We are down to seven bubble teams following yesterday’s action. Arkansas and Oklahoma moved up, for now, following wins in the SEC Tournament. Georgia and Vanderbilt lost, but I have kept them off the bubble for now.
Not so lucky was Ohio State, which lost to Iowa and has dropped off the bubble to the wrong side. The Buckeyes went into the Big Ten Tournament needing multiple wins but couldn’t even manage one against the Hawkeyes.
All seven teams are in action today. Most notably, we have double-bubble action in the Mountain West, where two of the last four teams in today’s bracket face off.
Check out Palm’s latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub
All times ET
Thursday’s “double-bubble” game
Boise State vs. San Diego State
5:30 P.M. | CBS Sports Network, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ with Showtime (Try It Free)
This is unquestionably the most important bubble game of the day. Both teams are among the last four teams in my bracket this morning. It is a likely elimination game; however, teams currently off the bracket have not done a great job of improving their cases. The winner of this game gets the winner of top seed New Mexico vs. San Jose State.
Other bubble teams in action Thursday
Indiana
vs. Oregon, 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fubo (Try for free)
The Hoosiers have made a run into the bracket by winning four of their last five games, including victories over Michigan State and Purdue. The one team to beat them in that stretch was Oregon, but the Ducks were at home. This game is in Indianapolis, and while it’s not Assembly Hall, it will certainly sound like it.
Xavier
vs. Marquette, 2:30 p.m. | Peacock
Xavier is the bubble team in this matchup but the higher seed against the Golden Eagles. Marquette has not been in great form since the start of February. These teams split the season series with each team winning on the road. Xavier could really use another good win, especially away from home.
North Carolina
vs. Wake Forest, 2:30 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)
The Tar Heels continue to bide their time until they get another shot at Duke. Anything less than beating Duke is not good enough. However, that is tomorrow’s problem. They have to get there first. Wake Forest is the higher seed in this game, for what that’s worth. The Demon Deacons did win the one game these two played this season.
Baylor
vs. Texas Tech, 7 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)
Baylor took care of business yesterday against Kansas State, and now it takes its shot at Texas Tech. A win over the Red Raiders should punch Baylor’s ticket. A loss could still keep the Bears in the field, but Selection Sunday will be nervy.
Colorado State
vs. Nevada, 9:00 p.m. | CBS Sports Network, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App, Paramount+ with Showtime (Try It Free)
Colorado State has made a run to near the top of the Mountain West standings and near the bracket. The Rams have a couple of bad losses, but they swept Boise State and have home wins over Utah State and San Diego State. They may have to win the tournament to get in, but an at-large bid cannot be ruled out. It would be with a loss today, though.
Teams near the cut line
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on résumé: 32 | At-large bids in play: 5 | Automatic bids secured: 11 of 31
| ACC (3) | Duke, Clemson, Louisville |
| Big East (4) | Creighton, Marquette, St. John’s, UConn |
| Big 12 (6) | Arizona, BYU, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech |
| Big Ten (8) | Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin, Illinois |
| SEC (9) | Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M |
| WCC (2) | Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s |
Note – all references to NCAA Tournament selection records and trends based on NET rankings excludes the 2021 tournament. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of nonconference games, those rankings are not reliable enough to be considered.
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