Some moving and shaking went on this week. The biggest winners were Clemson and Maryland from the ACC. Rhode Island, San Diego St and Creighton all needed strong showings; unfortunately they all lost, pushing them all off the bubble.
There are 31 conference winners that receive automatic bids and 34 At-Large berths available. Here is the conference-by-conference breakdown of conferences possibly receiving multiple bids.
A10
In 1: Xavier
Bubble 3: UMASS, St Joes, Dayton
Overview: Again, it seems no one wants that second spot from the A-10. Rhode Island basically punched their ticket to the NIT with the loss at GW and has now lost 5 straight. St Joe’s took a hit last night with a home loss to St Louis, but still sits on the bubble. However, UMASS seems like the most likely candidate if the season ended today.
ACC
In 2: Duke, North Carolina
Bubble 5: Clemson, Miami, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Wake
Overview: With Clemson beating Miami on Wednesday, they seem like the 3rd lock from the ACC. Maryland came up with a huge road win at Wake on Thursday and now the Sunday duel against Clemson becomes that much more important.
Big East
In 5: UCONN, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville
Bubble 5: Pitt, West Virginia, Villanova, Syracuse, Seton Hall
Overview: If Pitt wins one of its next two (at Syracuse, at WVU) they move into lock status. Nova blew a chance losing to Marquette earlier this week and now really could use a road win at Louisville this weekend. As of today, I’d say the Big East gets 7 in the dance.
Big 10
In 4: Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan St
Bubble 1: Ohio St
Overview: OSU lost again and now has to beat Minnesota on Saturday to stay on the bubble.
Big 12
In 2: Kansas, Texas
Bubble 4: Kansas St, Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma
Overview: Oklahoma laid a dud at Nebraska on Wednesday and now might need the game against A&M more than the Aggies do. If K-State sweeps KU, the Wildcats will move in.
Conference USA
In 1: Memphis
Bubble 2: UAB, Houston
Overview: UAB and Houston both won, keeping their slim at-large hopes alive. We’ll reconvene on Monday.
Mountain West
In 0:
Bubble 3: BYU, UNLV, New Mexico
Overview: New Mexico missed a golden opportunity by losing a heart-breaker to BYU in OT and now must beat UNLV to stay in the discussion. SDSU is now off the bubble as they couldn’t beat UNLV on Tuesday.
Pac 10
In 3: Stanford, UCLA, Washington St
Bubble 3: USC, Arizona, Arizona St
Overview: USC picked up a monster win last night at Arizona and now probably only needs one of its last three games to be safely in the field. ASU missed a chance by getting destroyed at home by UCLA and now have lost three of four. If Arizona finished 9-9 in the Pac 10 and wins one in the conference tourney; they will also be in.
SEC
In 2: Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Bubble 5: Mississippi St, Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ole Miss
Overview: Miss St has won five of six and can vastly improve their resume with a road win at Florida on Saturday. Kentucky’s on a tear, while Ole Miss has lost eight of ten. Arkansas really could have used that road W at Alabama on Wednesday. No bubble team in the SEC will likely jump to lock status until at least the middle of next week.
WCC
In 0:
Bubble 2: St Mary’s, Gonzaga
Overview: Both teams should be in barring any more losses. These two meet up in Washington on Saturday which will determine who wears the regular season crown.
Other At-large Candidates
In 2: Butler, Drake
Bubble 6: Davidson, Kent St, South Alabama, VCU, Illinois St, Southern Illinois
Overview: If Davidson, Kent and VCU all win out the rest of their regular season games, they will cross into safe territory. SIU picked up a good road win at Bradley this week and might be peaking at the right time. Illinois St burst Creighton’s at large hopes by taking care of the Jays on Wednesday.
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