Florida picked up one of the biggest wins of the evening on Tuesday by knocking off Alabama 105-87. That bumped the Gators up to a No. 7 seed and put them on the "lock to make the NCAA Tournament" list.
The Crimson Tide's defense has fallen apart lately. That is the second time they have given up 100 points in their last four games. They have also put up 100 a few times themselves, but defense wins in the NCAA Tournament. They won't be in it for long if they can't tighten things up on the defensive end of the floor.
Nevada also got added to the "lock" list with a 76-66 win at Boise State. The Wolf Pack went 3-2 on the road against the other Mountain West NCAA Tournament contenders in the regular season.
Eastern Kentucky became the first No. 1 seed to fall in their conference tournament on Tuesday. The Colonels lost 67-65 at home to No. 10-seed Jacksonville in the second round of the ASU Tournament. Unfortunately, before the start of this season, the NCAA decided to take away the automatic bids to the NIT for teams that were the top seed in the conference tournament, but failed to make the NCAA Tournament. That means EKU's season may be over.
In bubble news, Wake Forest damaged its reputation as a home-court hero with a 70-69 loss at home to Georgia Tech. That is the Demon Deacons' first Quad 3 loss of the season and it could not have come at a worse time. They do get Clemson at home to end the regular season, so maybe Wake Forest can make up for this loss a little.
We have a couple of "double bubble" games headlining Wednesday's action and those are always especially important at this time of year.
All times Eastern.
Check out Palm's latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub
Wednesday's 'double bubble' games
Villanova at Seton Hall
6:30 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free)
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| Despite their relatively high rankings in the MOV-based metrics, Villanova is dragged down by three Quad 3 losses, all to Philly schools. Non-conference neutral site wins over North Carolina and Texas Tech are big for the Wildcats. This is a chance to possibly pick up another Quad 1 win, although a loss by Seton Hall could drop them into Quad 2. | |
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| Seton Hall starts the day with a NET ranking in the mid-60s, for what that's worth and a record of just 10-11 in the top three quadrants. Wins over UConn and Marquette at home are carrying them into contention for a spot in the field. The Pirates lost by 26 at Villanova the first time these teams met. A one-point win would suffice for them vs. the Wildcats. | |
Northwestern at Michigan State
7 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fuboTV (Try for free)
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| The Wildcats have been muddling along with their injuries. Ty Berry was lost for the season in the Nebraska game on Feb. 7. Ryan Langborn missed the last two games with an injury and Matthew Nicholson missed most of the Iowa game after being injured during the loss to the Hawkeyes. Northwestern, a projected No. 10 seed, still has Boo Buie though. That may have to be enough for a bit. | |
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| Michigan State looked to have settled comfortably into the middle of the bracket, but home losses to Iowa and Ohio State have set them back. A loss at Purdue followed that, but losing at Mackey Arena is to be expected. Now, the Spartans, a projected No. 9 seed, welcome a banged-up Northwestern team into the Breslin Center and they need to assert themselves at home. | |
Bubble teams in action Wednesday
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| at Texas A&M. 9 p.m. | ESPNU, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Bulldogs have not been good on the road and they may have to be vs. the Aggies. Their only Quad 1 or 2 win on the road so far came at LSU. They do have neutral site wins over Northwestern and Washington State, the latter of which looks a lot better now than expected back in November. Mississippi State would feel a lot better about its outlook if it could get a road win at Texas A&M. | |
| 2 |  |
| vs. Fresno State, 10:30 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Lobos have lost four of their last six, which includes losing at home to UNLV and Air Force, their two worst losses of the season. They had been a "home court hero", but you can't be one when you lose games like that. A loss to the visiting Bulldogs may be too much for New Mexico to overcome. | |
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 28 | AQ bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 8
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 3 | |
Big East | 3 | |
Big Ten | 3 | |
Big 12 | 6 | |
Pac-12 | 2 | |
MWC | 3 | San Diego State, Utah State, Nevada |
SEC | 6 | Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida |
WCC | 2 |
Near the cut line
| Last 4 In | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Utah | 18-11 | 46 |
| New Mexico | 21-8 | 29 |
 | Colorado | 20-9 | 31 |
 | St. John's | 18-12 | 34 |
| First 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seton Hall | 18-11 | 67 |
 | Iowa | 18-12 | 57 |
| Villanova | 17-12 | 25 |
 | Pitt | 20-10 | 44 |
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.
