Texas A&M picked up its best win of the season with a victory over No. 11 Tennessee on Tuesday. This is not the first time I have said that recently for the Aggies, and the win removes the Aggies from the bubble discussion ... for now.
The same cannot be said for Arkansas, however, despite a win over Georgia. The difference is the remaining schedule for the Razorbacks as they finish the regular season with road games at Alabama and Tennessee followed by a rematch with Kentucky at home.
Mississippi State took another step in the wrong direction with a loss at Missouri. The loss wasn't necessarily unexpected, so it's not too damaging. The Bulldogs have a schedule that gives them a chance to finish strong, although only the game with Texas A&M is against another NCAA Tournament contender.
Wednesday night's focus turns to the ACC where two of the first four teams out of Monday's bracket hit the road looking for wins. You will have to stay up late if you want to catch the bubble action tonight because the earliest tip time is 9 p.m. ET.
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on résumé: 17 | Bids secured: 0 | At-large spots remaining: 36
| Conference | Locks | Teams |
|---|---|---|
ACC | 1 | Miami |
Big East | 3 | |
Big Ten | 2 | |
Big 12 | 4 | |
Pac-12 | 2 | |
SEC | 2 | |
American | 1 | |
Others | 2 |
On the cutline
| Last Four In | Record | NET |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi State | 18-9 | 43 |
| USC | 19-8 | 56 |
| New Mexico | 20-7 | 47 |
| West Virginia | 16-12 | 32 |
| First Four Out | Record | NET |
| Wisconsin | 15-11 | 7 |
| Penn State | 16-11 | 59 |
| Wake Forest | 17-10 | 77 |
| North Carolina | 16-11 | 48 |
| Next Four Out | Record | NET |
| Utah State | 21-7 | 33 |
| Arizona State | 19-9 | 70 |
| Oregon | 15-13 | 49 |
| Seton Hall | 16-12 | 71 |
Check out all the teams on Palm's Bubble Watch, the field of the 68 and the entire bracket on the Bracketology hub
Wednesday's 'Double Bubble' game
New Mexico at Boise State
10:30 p.m. | FS1, fuboTV (Try for free)
| 1 |  |
| Jaelin House returned after missing two games because of an injury, and New Mexico got back on track with a blowout win at San Jose State last time out. The Lobos did a lot of damage to their tournament resume in the two games in House's absence, though. The loss at Air Force and at home to last-place Wyoming may be too much from which to recover. | |
| 2 |  |
| Boise State's resume is led by a win over Texas A&M that looks better every time the Aggies take the floor. The Broncos have been tough at home this season, losing only to South Dakota State in the season opener. They need to keep defending their home court to stay in the hunt. | |
Bubble teams in action Wednesday
| 1 |  |
| At Notre Dame, 9 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Try for free) – The Tar Heels enter the day 0-9 against Quad 1 opposition. They cannot fix that Wednesday, but they can avoid getting their first Quad 3 loss of the season. This resume is not strong enough to withstand adding bad losses to it. | |
| 2 |  |
| Vs. Ole Miss, 9 p.m. | SEC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) – Auburn is just 2-7 against Quad 1 opponents and has losses at Vanderbilt and Georgia outside that group. The concern for the Tigers is their finishing schedule. This is the easiest game remaining, and ahead is a road trip to Kentucky and Alabama before getting Tennessee at home. | |
| 3 |  |
| Vs. Iowa, 9 p.m. | Big Ten Network, fuboTV (Try for free) – Wisconsin is one more home loss away from not being able to recover. That may be true of a road loss as well, but the Badgers' home record is especially baffling. They are only 3-5 on their home floor against teams in the top three quadrants. Turn just a couple of those around, and they may already be in the field. | |
| 4 |  |
| At NC State, 9 p.m. – Like the rest of the ACC, Quad 1 wins have been tough to come by for the Demon Deacons. There are only a few teams that can provide them and one is NC State on the road. Wake is only 1-6 against Quad 1 teams and also has two losses each in Quads 2 and 3. Tonight is the Demon Deacons' final chance at a Quad 1 win in the regular season. | |
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.
