Kentucky picked up a win at fellow bubbler Mississippi State on Wednesday night. That put the Wildcats back in the field for now. They now get three of their next four at home, starting with the rematch with Tennessee.
Arkansas lost at Texas A&M playing mostly without Nick Smith, who logged just four first half minutes. The Razorbacks need him back and functioning very soon or they may run out of chances to stay in the field. They have what should be a couple of relatively easy home games against Florida and Georgia before back-to-back tilts with Alabama and Tennessee on the road.
The Pac-12 takes center stage Thursday with two of the three bubble games featuring teams from that league. Must win games all around..
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on résumé: 10 | Bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 31
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 0 | |
Big East | 0 | |
Big Ten | 1 | |
Big 12 | 2 | |
Pac-12 | 2 | |
SEC | 2 | |
American | 1 | |
Others | 0 |
On the cut line
| Last Four In | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 15-10 | 80 |
| Arkansas | 17-9 | 23 |
| West Virginia | 15-11 | 25 |
| Texas A&M | 19-7 | 33 |
| First Four Out | Record | NET |
| North Carolina | 16-10 | 40 |
| Wake Forest | 17-9 | 73 |
| New Mexico | 19-7 | 48 |
| Penn State | 15-11 | 67 |
| Next Four Out | Record | NET |
| Seton Hall | 16-11 | 65 |
| Arizona State | 18-8 | 69 |
| Clemson | 19-7 | 64 |
| Utah State | 20-7 | 36 |
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 Thursday
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| vs. UCF, 8 p.m. | ESPN+ – Memphis lost in double overtime the first time these two teams met on Jan 11. The Tigers have only lost once since, but are still in a position where the only team left of their schedule they can afford to lose to is Houston. The first of those matchups is Sunday in Houston. Memphis cannot get caught looking ahead. | |
 | |
| vs. Colorado, 8 p.m. | Pac-12 Network, fuboTV (Try for free) – Arizona State is only on the bubble because the Sun Devils have a schedule that allows them the opportunity to try to play their way into the field. That will not mean anything if they do not take care of business on their home floor first. After Thursday's game with the Buffaloes, ASU will host Utah, then try to build a case on the road against Arizona, UCLA and USC. | |
 | |
| vs. California, 11 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free) – The Trojans took a couple of damaging losses last week on their trip to Oregon. In particular, the loss at Oregon State really hurts because it is their second Quad 3 loss. This weekend, USC hosts a couple of teams that are no more than potential bad losses. A sweep is a must. | |
All references to NCAA tournament selection records and trends refer only to tournaments going back to 1994 with the exception of 2021. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of nonconference games in 2021, those rankings were not reliable enough to be considered.
