College Basketball Bubble Watch: 2/29

Some moving and shaking went on this week.  The biggest winners were Clemson and Maryland from the ACC, who both picked up conference wins against fellow bubble-ees.  Rhode Island, San Diego State, and Creighton all needed strong showings.  Unfortunately they all lost and were pushed off the bubble.

31 conference winners will receive automatic bids, and 34 at-large berths are available.  Here is the conference-by-conference breakdown of those possibly receiving multiple bids.

A10
In 1: Xavier
Bubble 3: UMASS, St. Joe's, Dayton

Again, it seems no one wants that second spot from the A-10.  Rhode Island basically punched their ticket to the NIT with the loss at GW and has now lost five straight games. St. Joe’s took a hit last night with a home loss to St. Louis, but still sits on the bubble.  However, if the season ended today, UMASS would be the most likely candidate.

ACC
In 2: Duke, North Carolina
Bubble 5: Clemson, Miami, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Wake

With Clemson beating Miami on Wednesday, they seem like the third lock from the ACC.  Maryland came up with a huge road win at Wake on Thursday and now the Sunday duel against Clemson becomes that much more important.

Big East
In 5: UCONN, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Louisville
Bubble 5: Pitt, West Virginia, Villanova, Syracuse, Seton Hall

If Pitt wins one of its next two (at Syracuse or WVU) they move into lock status.  Nova blew a chance losing to Marquette earlier this week, and now they could really use a road win at Louisville this weekend.

Big 10
In 4: Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State
Bubble 1: Ohio State

OSU lost again and now has to beat Minnesota on Saturday in order to stay on the bubble.

Big 12
In 2: Kansas, Texas
Bubble 4: Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma

Oklahoma laid a dud at Nebraska on Wednesday and now they might need the game against A&M even more than the Aggies do.  If K-State sweeps KU, the Wildcats will move in.

Conference USA
In 1: Memphis
Bubble 2: UAB, Houston

UAB and Houston both won, keeping their slim at-large hopes alive.  We’ll reconvene on Monday.

Mountain West
In 0:
Bubble 3: BYU, UNLV, New Mexico

New Mexico missed a golden opportunity, losing a heartbreaker to BYU in OT, and now must beat UNLV to stay in the discussion.  SDSU is now off the bubble—they couldn’t beat UNLV on Tuesday.

Pac 10
In 3: Stanford, UCLA, Washington State
Bubble 3: USC, Arizona, Arizona State

USC picked up a monster win last night at Arizona.  Now they probably need to win only one of their last three games to be safely in the field. ASU missed a chance last night as they were destroyed at home by UCLA.  They have now lost three of four.  If Arizona finishes 9-9 in the Pac-10 and wins one in the conference tourney, they will also be in.

SEC
In 2: Tennessee, Vanderbilt
Bubble 5: Mississippi State, Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ole Miss

Miss State has won five of six and can vastly improve their resume with a road win at Florida on Saturday.  Kentucky’s on a tear, Ole Miss has lost eight of ten and Arkansas really could have used that road W at Alabama on Wednesday.

WCC
In 0:
Bubble 2: St. Mary’s, Gonzaga

Both teams should be in, barring any more losses.  These two meet up in Washington on Saturday which will determine who will wear the regular season crown.

Other at-large Candidates
In 2: Butler, Drake
Bubble 6: Davidson, Kent State, South Alabama, VCU, Illinois St, Southern Illinois

If Davidson, Kent, and VCU all win out the rest of their regular season games, they will cross into safe territory.

SIU picked up a good road win at Bradley this week and might be peaking at the right time.  Illinois State burst Creighton’s at large hopes by taking care of the Jays on Wednesday.