The regular season comes to an end for most of the conferences Saturday. After this weekend, teams can only hope for the best in their conference tournaments.
The nice thing about conference tournaments is that for the most part, they are played on neutral courts. However, St. John's is a bubble team that will play the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, which is considered a home court for the Johnnies, even though tickets are not controlled by the school. But before the conference tournament, St. John's has an important game it can't afford to lose right after moving into the field of 68.
Here are Saturday's bubble teams in action.
All times Eastern.
Check out Palm's latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub
Bubble teams in action Saturday
| vs. Georgetown, Noon | Fox, fuboTV (Try for free) -- St. John's cannot afford to lose to Georgetown. It is as simple as that. The Red Storm needs to stack wins of any quality to get into the field, but a loss to the Hoyas would be so damaging that it would likely mean having to win the Big East Tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. | |
| vs. Creighton, 2:30 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV (Try for free) -- This is a huge opportunity for the Wildcats to get a quality win on their home floor. Villanova is just four games above .500 overall and has three Quad 3 losses to overcome. The Wildcats' margin for error is small, but a season sweep of the Bluejays would be a gold star on their team sheet. | |
| vs. South Carolina, 2:30 p.m. |SEC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Bulldogs have the typically pedestrian tournament résumé that many bubble teams have. They have a couple nice home wins, but a bad record against better teams along with a Quad 4 loss. A win over the Gamecocks wouldn't fall in Quad 1, but it is still a win over a tournament team and that is a plus regardless of whether it's Quad 1 or 2. | |
| at Oregon State, 5 p.m. | Pac-12 Netwwork, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Buffaloes escaped with a win at Oregon on Thursday night. Now, they need to avoid the same mistake Utah made by losing to the Beavers. Colorado needs some higher quality wins, but a loss to Oregon State may mean they need to win the Pac-12 Tournament. | |
| vs. Clemson, 8 p.m. | ACC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Wake Forest has been a "home-court hero" all season until losing at home to Georgia Tech on Monday. The Demon Deacons get a chance to make up for that against the Tigers. This would be Wake's third Quad 1 win, all at home, if it comes through. | |
| at Oregon, 7 p.m. | Pac-12 Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Utah really hurt its chances with the loss at Oregon State on Thursday. Winning at Oregon does not really make up for that, but it gives the Utes the chance to keep trying. | |
| vs. NC State, 7:45 p.m. | CW -- Pitt had had a hit-or-miss season, but there is no time for any more misses. The Panthers already have two Quad 3 losses at home. They cannot afford a third. | |
| vs. Georgia Tech, 8 p.m. | ACC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Cavaliers are in no position to add Quad 3 losses to their tournament profile. Georgia Tech already stuck it to Wake Forest earlier this week and the Demon Deacons dropped out of the bracket. Let that be a warning to Virginia. | |
| vs. DePaul, 8:30 p.m. | TV, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Seton Hall is in a must-not-lose situation in its season finale. A loss to DePaul for a team so close to the bottom of the bracket may be difficult to overcome. | |
| vs. Minnesota, 9 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- After falling at Michigan State on Wednesday, Northwestern has lost two in a row and is stuck near the bottom of the NCAA Tournament bracket. The Wildcats have been good on their home floor though, despite the loss to Iowa in their last home game. They need to get back on track at Welsh-Ryan or they may need to do some work in the Big Ten Tournament. | |
| at Utah State, 9:30 p.m. | CBS Sports Network -- New Mexico has a big opportunity here to put an exclamation mark on its tournament résumé. A win by the Lobos at the current Mountain West leader would definitely push them up the bracket some. It would be their best win of the season. | |
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 | |
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
| Next 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | 18-12 | 41 | |
| Memphis | 22-8 | 71 | |
| Texas A&M | 17-13 | 49 | |
| Ohio State | 18-12 | 59 |
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.