NCAA Tournament 2012: Breaking Down the Bubble After Saturday's Action

Every bubble team in the country breathed a sigh of relief after Murray State claimed the Ohio Valley Conference title, ensuring that Tennessee State would not hijack a coveted tournament spot.

However, the bubble is not a safe place to be, regardless of how other matchups shake out. Teams still needed to perform well in their own games Saturday, and while some prevailed, others came up short.

With Selection Sunday just one week away, Saturday was critical for most bubble teams. Here are the winners and losers from the pivotal day. 

Winners

West Virginia

The Mountaineers improved to 19-12 (9-9 in Big East) with a key win over South Florida. They downed the Bulls 50-44 behind a combined 34 points from Kevin Jones and Darryl Bryant.

West Virginia was in fairly good shape coming in, but this basically solidifies their spot in the tournament. They've got four victories over top-50 opponents, and a 9-9 record is pretty good in the brutal Big East.

If they win at least one game in their conference tournament, the Mountaineers will definitely punch their ticket to the Big Dance.

Northwestern

The Wildcats remain on the bubble, but a strong win over Iowa helps their case.

They improved to 18-12 overall and 8-10 in the Big Ten. Their record is far from ideal, but they've taken down Michigan State and have close losses against Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan.

Northwestern has some work to do in the Big Ten tournament, but if they win two or three games, they'll secure their place in the NCAA tournament.

Losers

Seton Hall

Seton Hall crippled themselves on Saturday, getting blown out 86-58 by DePaul. It was their second bad loss in a row, destroying the momentum they built after taking down Georgetown two weeks ago.

Now, the Pirates have some major work to do in the Big East tournament. If they string together a run, they'll sneak into the Big Dance.

However, an early exit in their conference tournament will doom their hopes for a tourney bid.

Washington Huskies

At 14-4 in the Pac-12, I'm expecting the Huskies to get into the tournament. However, they didn't do themselves any favors by losing to UCLA in the regular-season finale.

The loss leaves the door open for Cal, who will take a share of the league title if they beat Stanford on Sunday. Losing the distinction as outright Pac-12 regular-season champs would hurt the Huskies odd resume.

Their conference record is impressive, but the Pac-12 is historically weak this year. They also don't have a single impressive non-conference victory.

If they struggle in their conference tournament, Washington could be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday.