March Madness 2018: Schedule and Bracket Predictions for Bubble Teams

With Selection Sunday set for March 11, the NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble will change on a daily basis.

The major conference tournaments will go a long way in determining the respective fates of the teams on the bubble, and fluctuation will be an hourly occurrence with so many moving parts.

One of the bubble teams has its final opportunity to impress this weekend because the Big Ten moved up its conference tournament to play at Madison Square Garden ahead of the Big East.

Below is a look at four of the many bubble teams on the selection committee's radar and what they need to do to secure a spot in the field of 68.

March Madness Schedule

Selection Sunday (March 11)

First four (March 13 and 14)

First round (March 15 and 16)

Second round (March 17 and 18)

Sweet 16 (March 22 and 23)

Elite Eight (March 24 and 25)

Final Four (March 31)

National Championship (April 2)

Bubble-Team Predictions

Nebraska

The third day of the Big Ten tournament features the debut of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who need a victory or two to solidify their resume. 

Despite going 13-5 in conference play, the Cornhuskers still have work to do based off the Big Ten's weakness when compared to other conferences.

Nebraska has the perfect opportunity in front of it with Michigan lined up in the quarterfinals.

BTN.com's Tom Dienhart was one of the many experts to point out the Cornhuskers couldn't have asked for a better situation:

Tim Miles' team is on the bubble because of a suspect nonconference schedule that features losses to St. John's and UCF and a conference record that includes one ranked victory against a Minnesota team that fell off the face of the earth.

If the Cornhuskers knock off Michigan and then beat Michigan State in the semifinals, they would be in decent shape, but as is the case in all conferences this time of the year, the only way to guarantee a spot in the field of 68 is to win your tournament.

Prediction: In

Arizona State

Rarely do you see a bubble team with victories over Xavier and Kansas, but that's what we have in Arizona State.

The Sun Devils ended a three-game losing streak Thursday with a 84-53 victory over California, which put them at 20 wins.

A win over Stanford to conclude the regular season Saturday should keep the Sun Devils in good standing with the selection committee, but they must win a game or two at the Pac-12 tournament to feel safe.

Young Kwak/Associated Press

The Sun Devils are eighth in the Pac-12 with an 8-9 record, which gives them a first-round matchup with Colorado before a quarterfinal showdown with Arizona.

Arizona State can only move up to the No. 7 seed since it is one game behind Oregon in the loss column.

The No. 7 seed would be a less favorable draw in terms of earning a quality win since USC is second in the Pac-12.

If the Sun Devils are able to get one more marquee victory to add to their wins over Xavier and Kansas, they should have an advantage over the rest of the bubble teams.

Prediction: In

Washington

On the other end of the Pac-12 bubble spectrum is Washington, which is third in the Pac-12 following a win over Oregon State. But the Huskies lack quality wins.

They beat Kansas in nonconference play, but they have losses to fellow bubble teams Providence and Virginia Tech that could go against them on Selection Sunday.

Washington put itself in this position by losing three of its four games at the end of February, including a double-overtime defeat to Oregon State in the teams' February 10 meeting.

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

Entering the Pac-12 tournament, the Huskies have two ways to improve their resume. The first could be a game against fellow bubble team USC in the semifinals before seeing Arizona in the final.

The other scenario sees the Huskies fall to the No. 4 or No. 5 seed and play Arizona in the semifinals, followed by a presumably easier final against USC or UCLA.

Either way, the Huskies have to beat Arizona and one of the other bubble teams in the Pac-12 to finish off their resume before Selection Sunday.

However, if Washington stumbles in the quarterfinals, which is a possibility given the volatility of the Pac-12, it could mark the end of the team's tournament dream.

The Huskies may have too much work to do, and there's no guarantee they can beat a motivated Arizona team for the second time.

Prediction: Out

Texas

Shaka Smart's Texas Longhorns have little going for them.

The Longhorns have lost five of their past seven games and played without the injured Mohamed Bamba on Monday at Kansas.

It's remarkable the Longhorns are even in the bubble discussion with a 17-13 overall record and a 7-10 mark in the Big 12, but they are the beneficiaries of their conference's strength.

Texas' nonconference resume isn't that impressive, as it lost to Duke, Gonzaga and Michigan, while it beat Butler and Alabama.

Two wins over Oklahoma and one over Texas Tech and TCU have buoyed the Longhorns' resume, but there's plenty of work to be done if they want to be one of the 68 teams chosen on Selection Sunday.

Chris Covatta/Getty Images

A win over West Virginia Saturday in the regular-season finale would be a great first step in a critical week for Texas, during which it must find a way to get to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament.

A first-round clash with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State or Iowa State appears to be on the cards for the Longhorns before a showdown with Kansas or West Virginia in the quarterfinals.

If they can pull off two wins in a row, the Longhorns would be in better shape. But they need to prove they are capable of doing that before we endorse them to qualify for the field of 68.

Prediction: Out

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