The clock is ticking down on the regular season. Sunday will mark three weeks until the field of 68 is announced on CBS. We are just over a week away from the beginning of conference tournament play.
The Atlantic Sun will kick things off on Feb. 27. That means the clock is also ticking down on the hopes of bubble teams trying to fight their way into the NCAA Tournament. The bubble is getting smaller and smaller.
Saturdayâs âDouble-Bubbleâ game
Clemson Tigers at Miami Hurricanes
Miami burst Clemsonâs bubble Saturday, likely for good this time. The Tigers fell to 14-12 overall and with the schedule they have left, it does not seem probable that Clemson will be able to put a good enough record to get an at-large bid.
It was a big win for Miami though. The Hurricanes have won four of their past five, but figure to be underdogs in every game remaining in the regular season. This gives them a bit of a cushion heading into that stretch.
Saturdayâs bubble teams in action
Seton Hall Pirates
The Hall was not very competitive against Villanova, just like the last time they faced the Wildcats. The Pirates lost the two games by a combined 52 points. Seton Hall is still OK though. It only counts as one loss. The Pirates will still need to finish well though.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Demon Deacons came close to the big win, but couldnât quite get there. That is the theme of their season. Wake Forest is now 15-12 overall, but just 1-9 vs the RPI top 50. With games left with Louisville and at Virginia Tech, the Demon Deacons will join Clemson on the sidelines instead of the bubble.
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State is lacking in RPI top-100 wins, but those chances are coming. The Wildcats did what they needed to do, although it wasnât easy. Texas gave K-State trouble in both games this season, losing only by three points both times.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama took care of business the way it needed to this afternoon against one of the worst teams in the SEC. Alabama does not have too many games left that it can afford to lose to stay in contention for an at-large bid, but this would have been a disaster.
Dayton Flyers
Dayton got a scare from the Bonnies, but hung on for an important win. The Flyers are back in a tie for first place in the Atlantic 10 with VCU. The win was the sixth in a row for Dayton. The Flyers will probably have to beat VCU at some point, but they need to keep avoiding bad losses.
Wichita State 73, Northern Iowa 44
Wichita State blew out another MIssouri Valley also-ran to keep a clean sheet in the bad loss department. Not having a bad loss is the best part of the Shockersâ profile. They are just keeping time with Illinois State atop the MVC. Actually, it will be Illinois State trying to keep pace Sunday.
UT-Arlington Mavericks
You take road wins any way you get them in the league. UT Arlington escaped Georgia State with a one-point win to stay in first place in the crazy Sun Belt. Four teams are one game back of the Mavericks in the loss column. Could be an interesting race to the finish. The Mavs have a big win over St. Maryâs, but likely need to win out deep into the Conference tournament to have a chance for that to matter.
Michigan State Spartans
The Spartans got beat pretty soundly at Mackey Arena, but that was not their biggest concern. Eron Harris, a senior guard, took a hard spill and was carried off on a stretcher in the second half. Coach Tom Izzo said after the game that he has a badly sprained knee. Hopefully, he will recover soon, but more likely, a young team just got a lot younger for the stretch run of the season. That could be a problem if the Spartans struggle even more without Harris. They still need to win at least half of their remaining games, and maybe more, to solidify an at-large spot.
TCU Horned Frogs
The Horned Frogs fell short of getting the season sweep of the Cyclones. TCU dropped to 16-10 on the season with games against Kansas and West Virginia next. They could really use a win against one of those two, and still have to win the other games also.
Marquette Golden Eagles
This was huge for the Golden Eagles, but their season has been one of great inconsistency. They can no longer afford to give up a good win with a bad loss. The next game against St. Johnâs at home is every bit as important as the win over Xavier today.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys got quite a fight from their Bedlam rivals, but they came away with the win. Oklahoma State still has a tough schedule left, but it is one win away from getting off the bubble.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas followed up its best win of the season with one that was also important. The Hogs extended their winning streak to three games, but more importantly, are showing signs of consistency. Arkansas is clearly the leader for a fourth tournament bid from the SEC. They still are not far enough in to be able to go bad to some old, bad habits.
Mississippi, on the other hand, is in trouble. It still has a chance, but now, there is a lot more pressure on their remaining games. The first two are about avoiding bad losses and the last two are about making a case for selection.
Auburn Tigers
The Tigers are just about done after a miserable performance at College Station. Auburn pretty much has to win out now to have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State is off the bubble now after losing at home to Nebraska. If the Buckeyes cannot beat Nebraska at home, they are not likely to be able to do what is needed with the rest of the schedule. Now the goal is to try to have a good enough record to make the NIT.
Rhode Island Rams
The Rams needed almost every second to fight off George Mason that they absolutely had to have after their stinker at home against Fordham last time out. Rhody has to make sure it does not look ahead to VCU when it faces La Salle this week. That VCU game may not matter if the Rams donât win the other games too.
Houston Cougars
Houston saw its five-game winning streak go to the wayside with the loss to SMU. More importantly, the Cougars saw their best chance at a quality win go away too, which they still desperately need. They still have a game at Cincinnati, but that figures to be a lot harder than beating SMU at home.
Boise State Broncos
Boise State stayed in contention for the Mountain West regular-season title with a win over Wyoming. The Broncos are in a three-way tie with Nevada and Colorado State. Boise State has a win over SMU in nonconference play that gives it an edge over the others for an at-large bid, however the Broncos will likely need to do what it takes to win the regular season conference title for that to matter.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
The Blue Raidersâ schedule only gets worse from here, but they are taking care of their business as they have to. They have yet to clinch the conference title, but that could happen this coming week. MTSU canât afford a bad loss, but they have nothing left but bad losses. Maybe they can afford a loss to Louisiana Tech in the conference tournament.
