It is crunch time for several teams on the bubble playing on Saturday. That is especially true for Gonzaga, which will actually see its regular season end a week before most other teams. The finale is against Saint Mary's, which also represents a much-needed Quad 1 opportunity.
Saturday's action features a "double bubble" game in the Big East, and six of the eight teams on either side of the cut line are playing. With time running out before conference tournaments and Selection Sunday, there are fewer and fewer chances to earn the type of wins necessary for an at-large spot in the NCAA Tournament.
All times Eastern.
Check out Palm's latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub
Saturday's "double bubble" game
12 p.m. | Fox
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| This is a battle of two of the First 4 Out, and the loser will have a tough climb back. Villanova has three Quad 3 losses dragging it down. Its three Quad 1 wins are pretty good, though, and include North Carolina and Creighton. The Wildcats are a game below .500 against the top 3 quadrants, and that usually isn't good enough for selection. | |
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| The Friars are two games below .500 against that group, and that is almost always fatal for a team's tournament hopes. They have three really good home wins against Marquette, Creighton and Wisconsin. A visit from UConn ends the regular season. I wouldn't want to be in the position of having to win that one. | |
Bubble teams in action Saturday
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| vs. Tulane, 12 p.m. | ESPNU, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Owls have been slumping a bit of late. They went 3-3 in their last six games, most recently losing at Memphis. This is the kind of game they need to win. A loss would knock them down the bracket even further. | |
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| vs. Oklahoma State, 2 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Texas got a big road win over Texas Tech this week, running the Red Raiders out of their own building. That only counts as one win, though. A loss at home to the Cowboys would undo all the good that win in Lubbock created. | |
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| at Arizona, 2 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Ducks won't get a better chance than this to send a message to the selection committee. Oregon has not been bad on the road with a win at Washington State already on its ledger. Arizona is fighting to be a No. 1 seed, so Oregon should see its best effort. | |
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| at Auburn, 4 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Try for free) -- This is a big opportunity for Mississippi State. A win at Auburn would make the Bulldogs a much better bet to make the NCAA Tournament -- and might even move them into the top half of the bracket. | |
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| vs. Iowa, 5:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fuboTV Try for free) --The Wildcats look to continue their dominance on their home floor against a resurgent Iowa. The Hawkeyes won at Michigan State last week, so Northwestern better be ready. The Wildcats have done well lately despite the absence of guard Ty Berry, who is out for the season with a torn meniscus. | |
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| at Virginia Tech, 5:30 p.m. | CW -- If the Demon Deacons win this one, it would be just their second Quad 1 of the season and just their fourth win away from home to go with ten losses. The Hokies are not NCAA Tournament quality, but they are pretty good on their home floor. This won't be an easy one for Wake. | |
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| at Boston College, 6 p.m. | ACC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Pitt will have to wait for the ACC Tournament to impress the committee; the rest of the regular season is about damage control. The Panthers have three games left, each of which could end their at-large hopes for the NCAA Tournament. | |
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| at Duke, 6 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Virginia does not have to win at Duke to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but it would certainly help. This is the Cavaliers' last chance in the regular season to help themselves, though. Their last regular-season game is at home to Georgia Tech. | |
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| at Purdue, 8 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV Try for free) -- The Spartans can play themselves into safety if they can knock off potential top seed Purdue at Mackey Arena. Michigan State already could have done that last week as well, but it lost at home to Iowa and Ohio State. The Spartans still have games left with Northwestern and at Indiana. | |
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| at Boise State, 8 p.m. | CBSSN, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App --The Lobos went from being a home-court hero to a no-court hero with home losses to the Broncos, UNLV and most recently, Quad 4 Air Force. They did not play a great schedule, but the finish is tough. This game and a road trip to Utah State surround a home game with Fresno State. Normally, you'd assume a win over Fresno State, but can't count on anything at the moment with the Lobos. | |
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| vs. Cal, 9 p.m. | Pac-12 Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Utah took care of business in a big way against Stanford on Thursday night. The Utes need to do so again -- well, at least get the win. The margin doesn't have to be big. | |
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| at Saint Mary's, 10 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Last call in the regular season for Gonzaga. If the Bulldogs lose again to Saint Mary's, they will likely have to win the West Coast Conference Tournament to continue their 24-game NCAA Tournament appearance streak. | |
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 18 | AQ bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 18
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 2 | Duke, North Carolina |
Big East | 3 | UConn, Marquette, Creighton |
Big Ten | 3 | Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin |
Big 12 | 4 | Houston, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas |
Pac-12 | 1 | Arizona |
SEC | 3 | Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn |
American | 0 | |
Others | 2 | San Diego State, Saint Mary's |
Near the cut line
| Last 4 In | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 23-6 | 19 |
| Utah | 17-11 | 50 |
 | Colorado | 19-9 | 30 |
 | Seton Hall | 18-10 | 64 |
| First 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | 18-10 | 56 |
| Oregon | 19-9 | 65 |
| Villanova | 16-12 | 32 |
| Wake Forest | 18-10 | 27 |
| Next 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | 18-10 | 49 |
 | Kansas State | 17-11 | 75 |
 | Ole Miss | 19-9 | 78 |
 | St. John's | 17-12 | 40 |
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.
