Northwestern is off the bubble -- for now -- after coming from behind late to beat top-ranked Purdue on Sunday. The Wildcats are flying under the radar in part because they are Northwestern and in part because they have a few so-so home losses. However, they also have wins at Indiana and Michigan State and beat Illinois at home.
Monday's Bubble Watch is a light but important slate. North Carolina won't get an opportunity for a Quad 1 win vs. Miami -- the Hurricanes rank No. 34 in the NET, and the Tar Heels get them at home -- but there are some late-season chances for last year's runner up to finish strong.
Later in the evening, West Virginia continues a tough road trip in Texas with a matchup against a top-10 Baylor squad. The Big 12 is the toughest conference in college hoops, and the Mountaineers need a few more wins in conference play before it it can feel good about its tournament chances.
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on résumé: 8 | Bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 31
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 0 | |
Big East | 0 | |
Big Ten | 1 | |
Big 12 | 2 | |
Pac-12 | 2 | |
SEC | 2 | |
1 | ||
Others | 0 |
On the cut line
| Last Four In | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 15-10 | 25 |
| North Carolina | 16-9 | 40 |
| Wisconsin | 14-10 | 80 |
| Mississippi State | 17-8 | 41 |
| First Four Out | Record | NET |
| Kentucky | 16-9 | 46 |
| Texas A&M | 18-7 | 33 |
| Arizona State | 18-8 | 65 |
| Oregon | 15-11 | 50 |
| Next Four Out | Record | NET |
| Wake Forest | 17-9 | 73 |
| Seton Hall | 15-11 | 61 |
| Clemson | 18-7 | 77 |
| Virginia Tech | 15-10 | 56 |
Check out all the teams on Palm's Bubble Watch, the field of the 68 and the entire bracket on the Bracketology hub
Bubble teams in action Monday
| 1 |  |
| vs. No. 15 Miami, 7 p.m. | ESPN , fuboTV (Try for free): North Carolina won this weekend, but dropped to 0-8 against the first quadrant after Ohio State finally lost enough games to drop out of that group. No team has received an at-large bid after going winless against Quad 1 since Georgia went 0-5 against such teams in 2015, and that Bulldogs team had the most Quad 1 losses without a win for an at-large team since Oklahoma got a bid in 1998 with an 0-6 record against Quad 1 teams. The Tar Heels have a couple of Quad 1 opportunities left, but this is not one of them. | |
| 2 |  |
| at No. 9 Baylor, 9 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Try for free): The Mountaineers got annihilated at Texas on Saturday to drop to 15-10 overall and 9-10 against the top three quadrants. A win at Baylor would be a big lift. It is never easy in the Big 12, but West Virginia gets a home-friendly schedule after this. | |
All references to NCAA tournament selection records and trends refer only to tournaments going back to 1994 with the exception of 2021. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of nonconference games in 2021, those rankings were not reliable enough to be considered.
