Bracketology Bubble Watch: Arkansas has important game at Kentucky, Syracuse could use a win

There are five games Tuesday involving teams on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament

The specter of COVID keeps interfering with college basketball, but we had one postponement Monday that was about not properly safeguarding against the virus.

North Carolina's game with Miami was postponed after video came out showing a couple of players at a party following Saturday's win vs. Duke. Nobody, including the players, were wearing masks.

Coach Roy Williams and the players separately put out statements apologizing for the indiscretion. It is not known if anyone will be punished or when the Tar Heels, the last team in the projected bracket, can take the court again.

Minnesota, currently in as a No. 11 seed, and San Diego State, currently in as a No. 10 seed, handled their business easily Monday to avoid what would have been bad losses. 

Maryland, currently out of the field of 68, lost at home to Ohio State 75-63 to fall below .500 (9-10 in games vs. Division I opponents, which is what the NCAA's NET Rankings uses) on the season. The Terrapins still have some winnable games left and will need to do well in those games to have a chance at an at-large spot.

There are five bubble games Tuesday, and in each case, there is more to lose than to gain.

Here are the bubble teams in action Tuesday. All times Eastern

Team	Game	Time (TV)	Bubble breakdown
	VCU at Dayton	5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)	Like many teams on the bubble, VCU needs quality wins to boost their resume. Last season, a win at Dayton would have been as good as anyone could get. The Flyers have taken a couple of steps back this season, but they have still proven to be dangerous at times, as their win over Saint Louis would attest. VCU has one bad loss and cannot afford any more.
	ST. BONAVENTURE vs. La Salle	6 p.m. (ESPN+)	The Bonnies still have a half-game lead in the Atlantic 10 after a loss to Saint Louis over the weekend. That loss did not do much damage to their tournament profile because the Billikens are a pretty good team. However, those same Billikens lost to La Salle the game prior to the one with St. Bonaventure, so the Bonnies need to show up ready to go to avoid a bad loss.
	SYRACUSE at NC State	6:30 p.m. (ACC Network)	Syracuse is sitting at 10-6, but has lost two of its last three. The one win was against the Wolfpack at the Carrier Dome. The Orange's only win away from home this season came at Boston College on Dec. 12. That has to change if Syracuse is going to make a run at the bracket.
	ARKANSAS at Kentucky	7 p.m. (SEC Network)	The Razorbacks have a pedestrian profile, with no wins over tournament quality teams and no bad losses. Arkansas is trying to avoid a bad loss at Rupp Arena where it faces the 5-12 Wildcats. I'm still getting used to typing sentences like that.
	ST. JOHN'S at Butler	9 p.m. (FS1)	The Johnnies have stormed into the bracket on a six-game winning streak which includes victories at UConn and at home against Villanova. A loss at Hinkle Fieldhouse to Butler is the kind of game St. John's can no longer afford to lose.