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With only a few days remaining in the regular season for the vast majority of conferences, bubble teams are feeling NCAA Tournament implications in every game.

CBS Sports bracketologist Connor Groel considers Texas A&M "the biggest wild card" in the field -- which is pretty remarkable considering just two weeks ago the Aggies were 9-11 on the season, just 2-11 in the SEC and had lost six of their last seven games. But on Thursday night, Joni Taylor's squad beat Mississippi State 68-64 for its fourth win in a row, which, according to Groel, boosts them into his Next Four Out. 

"Since the tournament became 64 teams, every at-large team has had at least 16 wins and been two or more games above .500," Groel said. The Aggies, who played a very sparse nonconference schedule so have fewer games on their resume than most of the field, are currently 13-11. However, they are ranked 40th in WAB, have some quality wins and are peaking at the right time, which will certainly help, especially "because the committee could reward them for being the hottest bubble team entering the tournament."

Texas A&M finishes the season against Ole Miss on Sunday, and that victory -- and/or a couple of wins in the SEC tournament -- could help the Aggies get to the Big Dance, a feat that seemed unfathomable mid February. (More on Ole Miss later in the column.)

As we've discussed before, the ACC is full of bubble teams. On Tuesday, Virginia was projected as a No. 10 seed by Groel. The Cavaliers fell 82-70 to North Carolina two days later, but a loss to a good team likely didn't affect them too much. 

That being said, their upcoming game against Virginia Tech shouldn't be taken lightly. As Groel put it, the winner of that game "should be feeling really good about making the tourney." 

The Clemson Tigers improved their resume with a win over Duke last Sunday. They continued taking care of business in a 70-63 road win against Cal and Groel now considers them safely into the tournament, along with Princeton and Villanova. Clemson will end the regular season against the Stanford Cardinal, a team that has a lot of work to do if it wants to avoid missing the tournament for the second consecutive year.

Colorado was a Last Four In Team on Tuesday, but a loss to Utah later that day means their game at BYU on Saturday is even more important. Arizona State is in a similar position after losing to BYU. The Sun Devils have a tough task ahead as they will close their regular season with a road game against Texas Tech.

While we won't get another full Bracketology update until Monday, Groel did provide us with a look at where his bubble stands as of Feb. 27, though he emphasizes that these teams are all extremely close, especially Colorado, South Dakota State and the eight teams on the outside looking in. In other words, every game truly does count right now.

Last Four In: Virginia, Virginia Tech, Colorado, South Dakota State

First Four Out: Arizona State, Richmond, Mississippi State, Stanford

Next Four Out: Kansas, BYU, Utah, Texas A&M

Elsewhere, the competition heating up for teams hoping for a chance to host an NCAA tournament game. Kentucky has a home game against South Carolina on Sunday, which could help the Wildcats chances at moving up to a No. 4 seed. However, the current No. 4 seeds -- Minnesota, TCU, Michigan State and Maryland -- will also be trying to hang on. 

Michigan State hosting projected No. 3 seed Ohio State on Sunday is one of the must-watch matchups for this weekend, along with Duke at North Carolina (more on that below).

Here is what else is happening in women's college basketball:

LSU clinches double-bye

An 89-73 win over Tennessee helped the Tigers secure one of the top four spots in the SEC standings, which will give them a free ticket to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament along with South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Texas. 

That was also the Tigers' 25th win this season, making Kim Mulkey the first coach in SEC history to win 25+ games in each of her first five seasons with a program.

So far, the Tigers have been a No. 3 seed in all NCAA Tournament appearances under Mulkey, but this year they could be looking at a No. 2 seed, and technically, a No. 1 seed is not impossible either -- although right now it's more likely the last No. 1 seed goes to Texas or Vanderbilt.

Ole Miss unlikely to host

The Rebels were one of the early top 16 teams released by the NCAA on Feb. 14. However, a 74-67 loss to Florida on Thursday likely cost Ole Miss a chance at a No. 4 seed, which would have allowed them to host an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1992.

"I was just really disappointed in our presence," Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said postgame. "I didn't feel like we showed up ready to compete. Right now this is the time of the year when teams should be desperate to win and I just didn't feel that desperation from my team. So that's something that I will have to look at and figure out how to correct."

Dawn Staley confirms Chloe Kitts' return

Earlier this week, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley announced that senior Chloe Kitts will return for the 2026-27 season. The 6-foot-2 forward was sidelined after she tore her ACL during a practice on September 2025.

The team will also get back senior forward Ashlyn Watkins, who took a year off for personal reasons. The biggest question right now is whether or not Madina Okot will get another year of eligibility because despite being a senior, this is only her second year playing at an NCAA institution. She spent two seasons at Zetech University in Kenya before playing at Mississippi State through the 2024-25 season and then transferring to South Carolina.

"We're trying to get a year back," Staley said. "Whether or not we'll be able to do that and prove that the conditions that she played in her first two years in Kenya were not comparable to NCAA standards."

Game to watch this weekend

No. 12 Duke at No. 21 North Carolina -- Sunday (12 p.m. ET on ESPN)

In-state rivalries are always fun, but more so when there are postseason implications on the line. Groel has Duke projected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Tar Heels will need this one if they want a chance at jumping from a No. 5 seed to a No. 4. Duke took a 72-68 home victory on February 15, which was part of a 17-game winning streak that recently got snapped by Clemson. However, now it's the Tar Heels' turn to host. The team is fresh off an 82-70 road win against Virginia in which they registered a program record 16 3-pointers.