Sunday's action features three teams that are very close to the cutline and in desperate need of a win.
On Saturday, there weren't any big winners among the bubble teams. It was really more about avoiding a calamitous defeat.
It took double OT, but Colorado won at USC to stay alive. The last team in Saturday's bracket will get a shot at fellow Pac-12 bubbler Utah next. Opportunities to improve its case for selection get pretty thin after that.
Also in the Pac-12, Oregon won at Oregon State in a tight game that keeps the Ducks in the hunt. Unlike Colorado, they will have more chances to get the kinds of wins they need to get into the field, including a game at Arizona and visits from the Buffaloes and Utah to end the regular season.
Wake Forest lost an eye-bleeder at Virginia in which the Demon Deacons only managed 47 points. They still had a shot to win at the end, but came up short. Their schedule still gives them a shot with home games against Duke and Clemson, but their first Quad 1 win has yet to materialize.
Texas A&M had hoped to get a big win at Alabama, but instead got blasted 100-75. It's the SEC, so the Aggies still have plenty of chances to improve their resume, but the next game at home to Arkansas is must-not lose.
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 Sunday
| 1 | |
| at Indiana, 3 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Can the Wildcats get a win on the road without Ty Berry? They already have a win of this quality away from home when they won at Penn State back in January. Northwestern really needs a win over a tournament quality team away from home, but they only chance left in the regular season is March 6 at Michigan State. | |
| 2 | |
| at St. John's, 5 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Seton Hall is barely hanging on to a spot on the bubble and facing a St. John's team that has recently fallen off of it. It does not get much easier for the Pirates after this, so a win today is vital. | |
| 3 | |
| at UCLA, 7 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Utes blew the first end of the LA road trip and like Colorado, desperately needs a bounce-back win. It wasn't that long ago that Utah was comfortably in the field, but the Utes have lost five of their last six and most of those losses have really hurt their chances at the NCAA Tournament. They need to get hot and stay hot. | |
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 3 | Bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 29
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 0 | |
Big East | 1 | |
Big Ten | 1 | |
Big 12 | 1 | |
Pac-12 | 0 | |
SEC | 0 | |
| 0 | ||
Others | 0 |
Near the cut line
| First 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 20-6 | 22 | |
| Oregon | 17-8 | 63 | |
| Wake Forest | 16-9 | 37 | |
| Seton Hall | 16-9 | 68 |
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.