Bracketology Bubble Watch: Stanford, Wichita State need a victory; Florida off bubble after win at Georgia

Three teams play who are are on the bubble which is getting smaller after the Gators helped themselves by beating the Bulldogs

By Jerry Palm

Mar 5, 2020 at 1:29 pm ET • 2 min read

There wasn't a ton of action on Wednesday, but there were certainly some important games for teams hoping to get or stay in the field. One team did play itself off the bubble and one took a loss in one of its few good chances left to prove itself.

There are three bubble games Thursday, all of which involve teams very squarely on that bubble. Nobody moved in or out of the bracket this morning, but there could definitely be changes Friday.

Let's start with bubble teams who played Wednesday:

Providence defeated Xavier 80-74 in a double-bubble game: The win over the Musketeers has taken Providence off the bubble. The Friars, a No. 9 seed in Thursday's updated bracket projection, would have to screw things up now to miss the field.

Xavier is now just 3-10 vs Q1 opposition. That record obviously isn't great, but it's not necessarily fatal either. The Musketeers only loss outside of Q1 came at Wake Forest, which is a Q2 game. They host Butler in the season finale, so that is a good chance to try to boost that Q1 record.

Florida won at Georgia 68-54: The Gators are off the bubble as well after beating the only team left on the schedule that could have hurt them. Florida, a No. 9 seed, doesn't have a great resume by any means, but it does get a shot at Kentucky to end the regular season.

Rhode Island lost to Dayton 84-57: I know it is asking a lot to beat the 28-2 Flyers, even at home, but not being competitive is not a good look. The Rams have had a rough finish to the regular season, losing at Davidson and at home to Saint Louis. It will be hard for them to make a case for selection now.

Indiana beat Minnesota 72-67: The Hoosiers struggle at times to finish games, but they got the job done against the Gophers to complete the season sweep. They did slip from a No. 9 seed to a No. 10 seed in the bracket, but that was due to Providence moving up than anything about this game. IU hosts the red-hot Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday to end the regular season.

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

Game	Time (TV)	Bubble breakdown
UTAH STATE vs. New Mexico	9 p.m. (CBSSN)	The No. 2 seed Aggies open Mountain West Tournament play against the team that beat them just five days ago. Utah State took their second bad loss of the season in that game and also their second worst, only to one at Air Force. The Aggies may not make it if they lose to anyone besides league champ San Diego State.
STANFORD at Oregon State	9 p.m. (P12N)	There are some NET rankings that baffle me, but perhaps none more so than Stanford's. The Cardinal is ranked No. 25 Thursday. As they say, or at least as I say, every computer ranking system has anomalies and this is one on them. A loss at Oregon State would not be as damaging as some other losses could be, but it would be good to avenge the earlier home loss to the Beavers.
WICHITA STATE at Memphis	9 p.m. (ESPN)	The Shockers are hanging on by a thread and face a tough team in Memphis at their place. The Tigers have struggled due in part to some injuries, but they are still dangerous. Wichita State's lack of higher quality wins makes winning games like this even more important.