Bracketology Bubble Watch: Five SEC teams hovering around the NCAA Tournament cut line in action Saturday

Ohio State had a chance to pad its record before its Los Angeles swing, but instead lost at home to Northwestern 70-49 on Thursday. The Buckeyes are now 15-12 and that record is not good enough to get in the NCAA Tournament. That LA trip is now of vital importance to Ohio State.

The SEC has been the dominant conference in college basketball this season, as evidenced in part by having five of the top six teams in the bracket. It is also the most bubbly conference as it has five teams in that part of the bracket world as well. No other conference has that many. They will all be in action as they lead a very busy bubble Saturday.

Check out Palm’s latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub

All times ET

Bubble teams in action Saturday

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Cincinnati

vs. TCU, 12 p.m. | ESPN2, fubo (Try for free)

At 15-12, the Bearcats need a quantity of wins, not just quality wins. They have a schedule that gives them a chance with four winnable games, three at home. None of them will be easy, but that’s why Cincinnati is a bubble team.

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Oklahoma

vs. Mississippi State, 1 p.m. | SEC Network, fubo (Try for free)

The Sooners have lost six of their last seven and really need to stop the bleeding. This is the second of five straight games against top flight conference foes. Oklahoma has to find a way to win a couple of those.

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West Virginia

at Texas Tech, 1 p.m. | ESPN+

The Mountaineers have struggled with consistency. They have four very good Quad 1 wins, but also have four losses to teams not in contention for the NCAA Tournament. Oddly, only two of those eight games have come at home, one each of the wins and losses. This is their last chance to make a big splash. Three of their four other games are against non-contenders.

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Wake Forest

at NC State, 2 p.m. | ESPN2, fubo (Try for free)

The Demon Deacons are biding their time before getting a shot at Duke. In the meantime, they have Quad 2 and 3 games they have to win because they cannot afford the damage to their light tournament résumé. This is the only road game among those four.

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Vanderbilt

vs. Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m. | SEC Network, fubo (Try for free)

Vandy, like most of its SEC mates in this position, has a difficult schedule to finish the season. The Commodores do have three of their next four at home though, which is where they have done their best work. They probably need a couple of home wins at least down the stretch.

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Georgia

at Auburn, 4 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)

The Bulldogs get this game against the Tigers and host Florida next. Then they have two games left against other SEC bubble teams surrounded by a trip to South Carolina. As SEC schedules go, this one is pretty kind.

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North Carolina

vs. Virginia, 4 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)

The Tar Heels are one loss away to someone not named Duke from being written off entirely. They have two Quad 3 games and a Quad 4 game left. It does not speak well for the ACC that it has this many teams in those categories.

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SMU

vs. Clemson, 4 p.m. | ACC Network, fubo (Try for free)

This could be the last call for the Mustangs, which blew a chance for a quality win at home against Wake Forest last week. There are no more teams on SMU’s schedule that can fill the gap in its tournament profile.

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VCU

vs. George Mason, 4 p.m. | CBS Sports Network (Channel finder) | Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)

I am not sure The Rams can be an at-large team, but if they can, they have to win games like this. So far, VCU’s best win and only Quad 1 win is at Dayton. They do not have any against likely NCAA Tournament teams. George Mason is the Atlantic 10 leader, so there is a lot at stake in this game and in the conference race as well.

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Boise State

at Nevada, 6 p.m. | FS1, fubo (Try for free)

The Broncos picked up their third quality win of the season last time out against New Mexico. They are now just 2-5 in Quad 1 games with losses in each of Quad 3 and Quad 4. That will be hard to overcome, but they still have a game with Utah State left. They cannot afford to lose any of the others.

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Gonzaga

vs. Saint Mary’s,8 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)

The top two teams in the WCC meet again, this time at the Kennel. This is not the game that can burst either team’s bubble, but Gonzaga needs it more. Despite their gaudy NET ranking, a win over the Gaels even at home would be the Bulldogs’ best of the season.

The Gaels won the first meeting and that is also their best win so far. They have two other Quad 1 wins, but neither are against potential tournament teams. Their only other win in that category came over Nebraska.

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San Diego State

at Utah State, 8 p.m. | CBS Sports Network (Channel finder) | Live stream: CBSSports.com | Mobile: CBS Sports App (Free)

The Aztecs have the best nonconference wins of any team in the Mountain West with victories at Houston and vs. Creighton. They also have a sweep of Boise State. The reason they are on the bubble is a home loss to UNLV and a road-heavy schedule that has opportunities to do some damage to their profile. 

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Arkansas

vs. Missouri, 8 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)

The Razorbacks are going to have to defend their home floor if they want a shot at an at-large bid by the time the SEC Tournament rolls around. They’ll get Texas and Mississippi State after this around a couple of road games against Vanderbilt and South Carolina. They will need at least three wins to feel some level of comfort at the SEC Tournament.

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Texas

at South Carolina, 8:30 p.m. | SEC Network, fubo (Try for free)

Texas has the most manageable schedule of the five SEC teams still trying to secure a spot in the field, even though three of its remaining games are on the road. The Longhorns only have one game against a top-tier SEC team and three against fellow bubblers.

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BYU

at Arizona, 10 p.m. | ESPN, fubo (Try for free)

BYU has been rolling since an ugly loss at Cincinnati. The Cougars have won three straight, including at West Virginia and a 45-point drubbing of Kansas at home. This is the first of three out of four on the road, which ends with a trip to Iowa State. BYU may need to pull one more upset along the way.

Teams near the cut line

NCAA Tournament locks

Locks based on résumé: 16 | At-large bids in play: 21 | Automatic bids secured: 0 of 31

ACC (1)	Duke
Big 12 (3)	Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech
Big Ten (5)	Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, UCLA, Wisconsin
SEC (7)	Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M

Note – all references to NCAA Tournament selection records and trends based on NET rankings excludes the 2021 tournament. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of non-conference games, those rankings are not reliable enough to be considered.