NCAA Bracket 2022: Latest Expert Bracketology and Predictions

The NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble will be molded by the events at the Big Ten tournament.

The Michigan Wolverines, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Indiana Hoosiers all have work to do in Indianapolis to qualify for the field of 68. Their success, or lack thereof, could diminish the field of bubble teams as Selection Sunday gets closer.

Michigan and Indiana will participate in what could be a NCAA tournament elimination game Thursday afternoon. Michigan played itself into better shape over the past two weeks, but a loss to Indiana could leave it vulnerable on the bubble.

Teams in the ACC, Big East and other conferences will have their eyes on the Big Ten results while they try to determine their own fates ahead of Selection Sunday.

The easiest path for any bubble team to make the field of 68 is to land the automatic bid earned by winning a conference tournament, but that will be hard for most of the squads with resume questions.

Latest Expert Bracketology

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Most of the bracket experts believe that Michigan and Rutgers have done enough to get into the field of 68 if it were finalized now.

ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Michigan on his "Last Four Byes" line and Rutgers in the "Last Four In" section alongside the Xavier Musketeers, Wyoming Cowboys and SMU Mustangs. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm put both Michigan and Rutgers in the "Last Four In" section with SMU and the BYU Cougars. The Athletic's Brian Bennett has Rutgers, Wyoming, SMU and the Miami Hurricanes in his "Last Four In" section.

Indiana is firmly seated in the "First Four Out" section. BYU, the Dayton Flyers and Virginia Tech Hokies are alongside the Hoosiers there in Lunardi's projection. Palm has the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, VCU Rams and Florida Gators with Indiana, while Bennett placed the Oklahoma Sooners with BYU, Indiana and Florida.

Although some of the spots on the projections are different, we have a good grasp of which teams need to do what in the next week. BYU is the only team mentioned that has already been eliminated from its conference tournament.

Michigan, Rutgers Do Enough to Get into NCAA Tournament

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Michigan and Rutgers should play themselves into the field of 68 in Indianapolis.

The Wolverines enter the Big Ten tournament in much better shape than Indiana, and that could show on the court Thursday afternoon.

The Wolverines picked up wins over the Michigan State Spartans and Ohio State Buckeyes in two of their final three regular-season games to pad their resume.

Michigan might even be safe with a loss to Indiana, but it can't risk that possibility turning into a reality.

Indiana has two victories in its past nine games, and they came against two of the worst teams in the Big Ten. Nothing about the Hoosiers' recent form suggests they will beat Michigan and find a way into the NCAA tournament.

As for Rutgers, it needs one win in Indianapolis to feel safer about its March Madness prospects. The Scarlet Knights earned the fourth double bye in the Big Ten tournament, so they will not take the floor until Friday.

Rutgers has a chance to pick up a quality win over Iowa that should secure its spot in the field, but a loss to the Hawkeyes would not be the worst thing to happen. The Scarlet Knights have wins over the other top five seeds in the Big Ten, and those victories represent a better collection of wins than those of anyone else on the bubble.

Rutgers would feel safer by advancing to the Big Ten semifinals, but its resume is still much better than those of other teams.

ACC Provides Most Bubble Drama

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The wide-open nature of the ACC could lead its tournament being a proving ground for bubble teams.

Miami and Wake Forest are set for a quarterfinal showdown as long as the fifth-seeded Demon Deacons beat their second-round opponent. The winner of that contest will likely lock up a spot in the field of 68. The loser may be fine as well depending on what happens in other conferences.

The Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies could make things interesting if they both reach the quarterfinal round. Both Virginia schools reside on the outside of the field of 68, but they have opportunities to make a run at the field of 68.

Virginia should scare any ACC team because Tony Bennett knows how to win in March. This Cavaliers team is not as good as previous versions, but it could spring an upset over a comfortable North Carolina Tar Heels team.

North Carolina effectively locked up its spot in the field of 68 with its win over the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, so Virginia would be the more desperate team in that matchup.

Virginia Tech will likely have a shot at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the quarterfinal round. Notre Dame is firmly in the NCAA tournament field.

Wins by Virginia and Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals could make things around the bubble much more interesting going into Friday and Saturday.

Virginia Tech is 9-2 in its past 11 games, which featured wins over Virginia, Florida State and Miami. Virginia, meanwhile, beat Miami twice, upset Duke once and lost by four in its other meeting with the ACC's top seed.

The two Virginia schools showed potential to beat top-tier teams. One or two more of those victories could shake up the bubble picture.