Let's start with the good news from Tuesday. New Mexico is no longer a Home Court Hero.
The Lobos, who were the first team out of the bracket, won at Nevada 83-82 for their ninth win away from home, but just their first against a team that may make the NCAA Tournament. The ability to win away from home against this level of competition is important because the tournament is not played on home courts.
Now for the bad news. Texas A&M gave away their big win over Tennessee on Saturday by losing at Vanderbilt 74-73 on a last-second shot. This lack of consistency is why the Aggies, who were a No. 10 seed, are likely to be on the bubble all season. Two of their next three games are at Alabama and a return game at Tennessee.
Indiana State celebrated their first appearance in the AP Top 25 since Larry Bird was on the team by losing at home to Illinois State. That is a Quad 4 loss and pretty much craters the at-large hopes for the Sycamores, who were a No. 10 seed in the bracket.
There is just one bubble game on Wednesday, but it is an important one.
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 Wednesday
All times Eastern
| at Penn State, 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Spartans are just 2-7 away from home this season, but one of those victories was a 24-point win against Baylor in Detroit. This is the first of a two-game road trip that also has them going to rival Michigan. Sparty, a No. 9 seed in the updated bracket, will be looking to improve on its 5-9 record against the top two quadrants. All of the Spartans remaining games are currently Quad 2 except the trip to Purdue on March 2. | |
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 | |
American | 0 | |
Others | 0 |
Near the cut line
| First 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | 19-5 | 22 | |
| Cincinnati | 15-8 | 34 | |
| Gonzaga | 18-6 | 24 | |
| Memphis | 18-6 | 75 |
| Next 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 16-8 | 61 | |
| Kansas State | 15-9 | 77 | |
| Wake Forest | 16-8 | 35 | |
| St. John's | 14-10 | 46 |
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.