Nebraska continues to breathe new life into their NCAA Tournament hopes. An 86-72 win at Washington gives the Cornhuskers three straight wins after an ugly six-game skid. Nebraska has a relatively favorable schedule remaining for a run at a spot in the field.
They have a home-and-home with Ohio State, home games with Michigan and Maryland, and four games with teams currently in the bottom five of the conference standings. Split those eight and they will have at least given themselves a decent chance entering the Big Ten Tournament.
UCF took another tough loss on Wednesday, this time at home to Cincinnati. The Knights have now lost back to back home games to quad 2 opponents. UCF is now 4-9 against the top two quadrants and 8-9 against the top three. A team can get an at-large bid with a record below .500 against quads 1-3, but it does not happen often.
For the Bearcats, it is their first Quad 1 win of the season and their first against a potential tournament team. There is still work to do before I think of them as a bubble team, but they get home games with BYU and Utah next. A sweep is vital because these are the kinds of games NCAA Tournament teams should win.
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Ohio State has a great opportunity when it hosts Maryland on Thursday. The other games are on the West Coast and in the West Coast (Conference), so unless you live out there, it could be a late night of TV watching.
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
Saint Mary’s at San Francisco
9 p.m. (ESPN2)
This is a “double bubble” game, but much more important for San Francisco. The Dons are on the bubble because they have been good at home and have this game, plus a home and home with Gonzaga still ahead. They probably have to win at least both home games to have much of a chance of getting into the field.
For the Gaels, it is more about the potential damage on their remaining schedule than the benefits. They still travel to Gonzaga and have a home-and-home with Oregon State after this. I do not expect a lengthy stay here.
Other bubble teams in action Thursday
Ohio State
vs. Maryland, 7 p.m. (FS1)
The next five games may very well tell us whether or not Ohio State in an NCAA Tournament team. The Buckeyes get four of them at home, starting with Maryland tonight. It is important because they finish with three of four on the road, including their West Coast swing in LA. They need to build up a cushion in these next couple of weeks.
Gonzaga
vs. Loyola-Marymount. 9 p.m. (ESPN+)
It’s weird seeing Gonzaga on the bubble, but that is the kind of season the Bulldogs are having. They have a gaudy NET ranking because they are sixth in average scoring margin, but are only 2-6 in Quad 1 games. Both wins have come against fellow bubblers. They also have a home loss to Santa Clara. Gonzaga should be OK if it can avoid further damage to its resume. Losing to LMU would be damaging.
Bubble teams near the cut line
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 1 | Automatic bids secured: 0
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 non-conference games, those rankings are not reliable enough to be considered.
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