Tennessee clinched the SEC regular-season championship with a 66-59 win at South Carolina Wednesday night, strengthening the Volunteers' hold on the fourth No. 1 seed. They finish the regular season with another Quad 1 opportunity against Kentucky at home on Saturday.
Seton Hall won the big "double bubble" game last night at home vs. Villanova. The metrics still do not favor the Pirates, but the quality of their résumé does – for now.
The Big East Tournament is going to play a big role in which of the four bubble teams in the middle make the NCAA Tournament, if any. St. John's may be at a slight disadvantage because their Big East Tournament games are considered home games.
Michigan State got off the schneid last night with an ugly 53-49 win over Northwestern. Even an ugly win is better than the prettiest loss. I have taken the Spartans off the bubble for now, but I do not think of them as a lock yet, either.
Tonight's bubble action moves out west to the Pac-12. All three bubble teams are in action and two play each other.
All times Eastern.
Check out Palm's latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub
Thursday's 'double bubble' games
Colorado at Oregon
9 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Try for free)
| 1 |  |
| Colorado lacks higher-quality wins to the point that a victory at Oregon would be its best of the season, at least according to the quadrants. The Buffaloes need all the quality they can get. For both of these teams, nothing will be settled before the Pac-12 Tournament. | |
| 2 |  |
| Oregon is welcomed back to the bubble for now but may not be there long if it cannot beat the Buffaloes at home. The Ducks have a poor record against better teams, but they did win at Washington State. The finishing schedule of Colorado and Utah at home gives them a change to get some momentum entering the conference tournament. | |
Bubble teams in action Thursday
| 1 |  |
| at Oregon State, 11 p.m. | ESPNU, fuboTV (Try for free) -- This is a game the Utes simply cannot afford to lose. Oregon State is the lowest rated team in the league, and it would be a Quad 3 loss if Utah comes up short. The Utes better be ready, though. The Beavers beat Arizona at home back in January. | |
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 28 | AQ bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 8
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 3 | Duke, North Carolina, Clemson |
Big East | 3 | UConn, Marquette, Creighton |
Big Ten | 3 | Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin |
Big 12 | 6 | Houston, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, BYU, Texas Tech |
Pac-12 | 2 | Arizona, Washington State |
MWC | 3 | San Diego State, Utah State, Nevada |
SEC | 6 | Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida |
WCC | 2 | Saint Mary's, Gonzaga |
Near the cut line
| Last 4 In | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 18-11 | 46 |
 | New Mexico | 22-8 | 26 |
| Colorado | 20-9 | 31 |
 | Seton Hall | 19-11 | 63 |
| First 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
 | St. John's | 18-12 | 36 |
 | Iowa | 18-12 | 57 |
 | Villanova | 17-13 | 29 |
 | Pitt | 20-10 | 44 |
| Next 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Wake Forest | 18-12 | 41 |
| Oregon | 19-10 | 64 |
 | Memphis | 22-8 | 72 |
 | Texas A&M | 17-13 | 55 |
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.
