NC State and Stanford saw their bubbles pop on Wednesday after getting blown out in their respective conference tournaments.
Louisville lost as well, but is still hanging on in the bracket. Selection Sunday will be nervous for the Cardinals.
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Thursday is the busiest day left in the regular season, so not surprisingly, it is the busiest day for the bubble as well. All four Mountain West quarterfinals will involve a bubble team. The fates of some teams definitely hang in the balance.
Here are the bubble teams in action Thursday. All times Eastern
"Double-bubble" games
Maryland vs. Michigan State
Big Ten Tournament, 11:30 a.m.(BTN)
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| Two weeks ago, I wouldn't have said this, but this game is much more important for Maryland than it is for Michigan State. The Terrapins were in a good spot with a record four games above .500 against a pretty good schedule and only one loss outside of Quad 1. However, they blew leads against Northwestern and Penn State and now sit at 14-12 with this game looming. They are now just 7-12 vs. the top two quadrants and 11-12 vs the top three. As I wrote yesterday, only one team has made the NCAA Tournament with a record of two games below .500 against the top three quadrants. I would not be confident in Maryland becoming the second such team. | |
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| Michigan State has rallied late in the season with wins over three top five teams in two weeks to go from on the outside looking in to the middle of the bracket. The Spartans may be able to still get in with a loss today, but they would also have relatively poor records against the top two and three quadrants. | |
St. John's vs. Seton Hall
Big East Tournament, 3 p.m. (FS1)
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| Both of these teams are longshots to find their way into the bracket, but today's loser has no shot. St. John's has been inconsistent. The Red Storm has wins over Villanova at home and at UConn, but also lost at home to Marquette and DePaul. They can make the tournament as an at-large, but probably has to win this game and beat Villanova to have any chance. | |
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| Everything I just said about the Johnnies is true of Seton Hall as well, but the Pirates' wins are not as good as those of St. John's. They too would need to win bs. Seton Hall and beat Villanova to have a chance to get into the field. | |
Other bubble teams in action
Visitor at home
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| vs. Virginia, 12 p.m. (ESPN2) -- The win by Syracuse was not necessarily a big resume booster, but it provided the opportunity to get one today. I like the Orangemen's chances of staying in the bracket with a win today. Otherwise, things get dicey | |
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| vs. Miami, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2) -- Georgia Tech just needs to avoid a bad loss to stay in the bracket. Things are breaking such that they might even be able to lose today, but why take the chance? | |
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| vs. Wyoming, 3 p.m. (CBSSN) -- San Diego State is in the same boat as Georgia Tech – avoid a bad loss and everything should be fine. Wyoming would be a bad loss. | |
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| vs. Nevada, 5:30 p.m. (CBSSN) -- Boise State is among the last four teams in the bracket and one of the reasons for that was a sweep at Nevada in the regular season. The Broncos may not make the NCAA Tournament with a third loss to the Wolf Pack. | |
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| vs. Oregon State, 5:30 p.m. (PACN) -- The Bruins are here because they are 5-8 against the top two quadrants and only one of those wins came over a team that will be in the field. They beat Colorado at home but have struggled against the better teams they have faced. A loss to Oregon State would be UCLA's first in Quad 3. That could knock them out of the bracket. | |
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| at UNLV, 9 p.m. (CBSSN) -- Utah State is the only one of the four Mountain West bubble teams with a bad loss and the Aggies have two of them. One of those came at UNLV on Jan. 25. They cannot afford to lose to the Rebels again. | |
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| vs. South Carolina, 9:30 p.m. (SECN) -- Ole Miss needs a couple of quality wins in this tournament to have a shot at an at-large bid. This game is about getting to those opportunities. The Rebels' bubble pops with a loss. | |
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| vs. Fresno State, 11:30 p.m. (CBSSN) -- Colorado State is 3-5 against the top two quadrants but doesn't have a bad loss. This would be a bad loss and drop the Rams to just .500 against the top three quadrants because they have a lot of Quad 4 games. | |
