Bubble teams finally decided to start helping themselves this week. St Joe’s, VT, West Virginia, Ohio St and Kentucky are just a few of the many teams on the brink that won crucial games to make that final push into the Big Dance.

There are 31 conference winners that receive automatic bids and 34 At-Large berths available. 20 conferences will send one team, while 11 will/could send multiple teams. Here is the breakdown of those conferences:

A10
Locks 1: Xavier
Bubble 4: UMASS, Dayton, St Joe’s, Temple

St Joe’s won half the battle, beating X last night, and now the game against Dayton this weekend is surely an elimination game. UMASS has won five straight and is looking pretty good. And Temple, winners of three straight and all alone in second in the A-10, joins the bubble watch.

ACC
Locks 3: Duke, North Carolina, Clemson
Bubble 3: Miami, Virginia Tech, Maryland

If Miami wins one of its next two (at Florida St, first round ACC Tournament), the Canes will be locked and dancing. VT has made a strong push and can significantly increase their chances by knocking off Clemson on Sunday. Maryland stays on the bubble and has to beat Virginia to stay there.

Big East
Locks 6: UCONN, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville, Pitt
Bubble 3: West Virginia, Villanova, Syracuse

WVU beat Pitt and is very close to locking up the 7th bid from the BE. Nova and Syracuse also won, keeping their NCAA hopes alive.

Big 10
Locks 4: Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan St
Bubble 1: Ohio St

OSU creeps back on the bubble as the Buckeyes took care of Purdue on Tuesday. However, OSU needs to beat Michigan St this weekend or make the Big 10 finals to have a legitimate shot.

Big 12
Locks 2: Kansas, Texas
Bubble 4: Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas St, Texas A&M

Oklahoma is all but in with their road victory over Okie St on Wednesday. Little separates the next three and whoever makes the biggest splash in the conference tournament will be dancing. My guess is the Big 12 takes five.

Conference USA
Locks 1: Memphis
Bubble 2: UAB, Houston

UAB won again keeping them square on the bubble. Houston rebounded Wednesday night, but still most likely needs to make the C-USA finals to have a shot.

Missouri Valley
Locks 1: Drake
Bubble 3: Illinois St, Southern Illinois, Creighton

Arch Madness is underway and both SIU and Creighton have to win their first round game to stay on the bubble. If Creighton knocks off Drake in the semis and Illinois St or SIU make it to the finals; the Valley could be a three bid league.

Mountain West
Locks 1: BYU
Bubble 2: UNLV, New Mexico

BYU is locked after clinching the MWC Regular Season title. New Mexico stayed alive by upsetting UNLV. The conference tournament semis between UNLV and NM could decide the second bid out of the Mountain West.

Pac 10
Locks 4: Stanford, UCLA, Washington St, USC
Bubble 3: Arizona, Arizona St, Oregon

USC took care of Cal and moves into the tournament. Arizona needs one more win, either at Oregon or first round of the Pac 10 tournament, to secure a spot. Oregon took care of ASU and can greatly improve its status by beating UA to end the year. However, the Ducks still might need two in the tourney to feel safe.

SEC
Locks 3: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi St
Bubble 4: Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Florida

Kentucky’s stock is rising as the Wildcats have won ten of twelve. If they take care of UF in the season finale and win one in the SEC Tournament, they should get a bid. Ole Miss stays on the bubble after beating Arkansas and Florida’s chances most likely diminished by losing to Tennessee at home on Wednesday.

WCC
Locks 2: St Mary’s, Gonzaga
Bubble 0:

The Zags won the rematch on Saturday and it seems the WCC will be a two-bid league.

Other At-large Candidates
Locks 1: Butler
Bubble 5: Davidson, South Alabama, VCU, Kent St, Western Kentucky

Kent rebounded nicely by beating Miami this week and needs to beat Akron to end the season to keep their at-large hopes alive. As long as Davidson, USA and VCU make the finals in their respective conference tournaments; all should receive bids. Because of the weak bubble, WKU joins the bubble watch as well.

Next update on Monday, March 10
 

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