Michigan State won at Penn State 80-72 to pick up its third win away from home in ten tries this season. Of course, the biggest victory for the Spartans is the win over Baylor in Detroit.
Sparty will have a few more chances to pick up a quality win this season including a trip to Mackey Arena to face Purdue on March 2. Michigan State is a No. 8 seed in Thursday's projected NCAA Tournament bracket.
There are five bubble teams in action Thursday including three late games in California that have ramifications among teams trying earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament..
Check out all the teams on Palm's Bubble Watch, the field of the 68 and the entire bracket on the Bracketology hub
Bubble teams in action Wednesday
All times Eastern
| 1 |  |
| at Rutgers, 6:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Wildcats have not been good on the road this season, winning only at Penn State and DePaul. Now, they face a stretch of three out of four on the road beginning with the trip to New Jersey this evening. To complicate matters, guard Ty Berry, the Wildcats' best 3-point shooter, is out for the season. Northwestern still has to find a way to win these games against non-tournament contenders. | |
| 2 |  |
| at North Texas, 8 p.m. | ESPN+ -- The result of the Tigers' four-game losing streak to end January is that they can no longer afford to lose tough road games like this. Memphis' tournament hopes are hanging on by a thread. | |
| 3 |  |
| at Loyola-Marymount, 9 p.m. | CBS Sports Network -- The Zags are biding time until they get another shot at Saint Mary's. These games are important though. It is an opportunity for Gonzaga to send a message that it is a tournament-quality team, even if the opponent is not. | |
| 4 |  |
| at UCLA, 9 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) -- The Buffaloes are the last team in Thursday's bracket. They only have one game left on the schedule that can help them and that is the home game with Utah. Everything else should be treated as a must-win. | |
| 5 |  |
| at USC, 11 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free) -- Utah is just a few spots ahead of Colorado and as travel partners, has the same remaining schedule as the Buffs. Everything I said about Colorado applies here as well. | |
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 3 | Bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 29
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 0 | |
Big East | 1 | |
Big Ten | 1 | |
Big 12 | 1 | |
Pac-12 | 0 | |
SEC | 0 | |
American | 0 | |
Others | 0 |
Near the cut line
| First 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 18-6 | 23 |
| Memphis | 18-6 | 76 |
 | Oregon | 16-8 | 63 |
 | Wake Forest | 16-8 | 37 |
| Next 4 Out | Team | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Kansas State | 15-9 | 77 |
 | Seton Hall | 16-9 | 67 |
 | Cincinnati | 16-8 | 35 |
 | Pitt | 16-8 | 52 |
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.
