Tuesday's Bubble Tracker: Michigan State tops Ohio State; Auburn, Wake take big falls

Meanwhile, Mississippi, Virginia Commonwealth and Dayton take care of business

You can never have too many quality wins, and the single best thing a team can do for its tournament résumé is to be a tournament-quality team on the road. These are the least damaging losses, unless you are a team that needs a quality win and does not have any more chances left at one.

Another category is the game where the bubble team is trying to avoid a potentially fatal loss. That is especially true of the non-majors, which do not get as many chances to make up for a bad loss. Life on the road is tough in any league, but these teams still have to find way to beat the teams they should no matter where they play them.

Tuesday's games involving bubble teams

Michigan State 74 Ohio State 66

The Buckeyes were not quite up to the task at Michigan State tonight, falling to 15-12 after the loss. They have three of their last four at home, and really, all four games are winnable. That is good news, because they may very well have to win them all.

Michigan State, on the other hand, improved to 16-10, and the Spartans need something of a cushion because their schedule is a lot more challenging. That starts with a game at Purdue on Saturday. Sparty also has Wisconsin at home and Maryland on the road before the conference tournament.

Clemson 95 Wake Forest 83

The Demon Deacons were never really in the game at Clemson. They did cut a 21-point game to six at one point, but that was as close as they got. Wake falls to 15-11 and with a tough schedule remaining, it might take an upset or two to make the tournament. Of course, the Demon Deacons have no quality victories at all, so an upset or two was necessary anyway.

Virginia Tech 66 Pitt 63

Pitt's visit to the bubble was short-lived. The Panthers dropped right back off after blowing an 11-point halftime lead and losing to Virginia Tech. The Hokies were playing their first game without Chris Clarke, who is out for the season after tearing his ACL against Virginia. He was the Hokies' leading rebounder. Pitt can still get back, but this was the easiest game left on its schedule.

Florida 114 Auburn 95

Do not adjust your monitor. That is an accurate score, and it required no overtimes. The defense rested as the Gators ran Auburn off its own floor and possibly out of any realistic shot at a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers schedule is set up such that they can only hurt themselves until they get to the SEC tournament.

Mississippi 96 LSU 76

It took a second-half rally, but Mississippi did what it had to do to stay on the bubble and in contention for an at-large bid. Ole Miss will have a couple of chances to help themselves coming up.

Dayton 85 Saint Louis 63

Dayton had this one from the opening tip. The Flyers led 41-17 at the half and never looked back. That's what you have to do to one of the league's lesser lights. Dayton remains tied for first with VCU.

VCU 91 Saint Joseph's 81

VCU took care of its business as well with a comfortable victory against the Hawks. The Rams took a brief half-game lead over Dayton, which lasted until the Flyers won at Saint Louis.

New Mexico 78 Boise State 73

Boise State's time in first place by itself in the Mountain West was short-lived. The Broncos fell at the Pit in New Mexico and dropped into a tie in the loss column with Colorado State and Nevada. This is not the worst of losses for Boise State, but it was a rare chance at a top-100 win, and not taking advantage of the short-handed Lobos hurts.