{"id":188716,"date":"2026-03-03T18:22:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/188716\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T18:22:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:22:24","slug":"bracketology-bubble-watch-evaluating-eight-controversial-ncaa-tournament-resumes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/188716\/","title":{"rendered":"Bracketology Bubble Watch: Evaluating eight controversial NCAA Tournament resumes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ohio State<\/a> finally earned a marquee victory on Sunday, knocking off No. 8 Purdue 82-74<\/a> for an unassailable Quad 1 win that could do wonders for the Buckeyes on Selection Sunday. Taking down the Boilermakers vaulted Ohio State from the First Four Out in CBS Sports Bracketology<\/a>\u00a0to a No. 10 seed as the first week of March gets underway.<\/p>\n

Sunday was less kind to Indiana<\/a>, which fell 77-64 to No. 13 Michigan State for its fourth straight loss. The Hoosiers began the day as one of the First Four Out, but woke up Monday firmly out of the field. It’s IU’s second four-game losing streak in Big Ten play, which has been one of the streakiest teams in college basketball under first-year coach Darian DeVries.<\/p>\n

Indiana wasn’t the only bubble team to crash over the weekend. In fact, the Hoosiers’ Quad 1 loss against a quality opponent was respectable in comparison to the losses taken by Auburn<\/a> and Cal. Both the Tigers and Bears suffered Quad 3 losses and are now among the First Four Out.<\/p>\n

Here’s how the bubble shapes up entering the final week of the regular season.<\/p>\n

Check out the CBS Sports Bracketology model’s latest bracket at the\u00a0Bracketology<\/a>\u00a0hub <\/p>\n

NCAA Tournament bubbleLast Four InFirst Four OutNext Four OutBreaking down the bubble<\/p>\n

Note: Wins Above Bubble (WAB) is a vital resume metric used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. It correlates more closely to selection and seeding than NET. Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

TCU<\/p>\n

Record: 19-10 (9-7 Big 12)
WAB rank: 42
Quad 1\/2 record: 9-8
Quad 3\/4 record: 10-2
What’s left: Tuesday at Texas Tech<\/a> (Q1), Saturday vs. Cincinnati<\/a> (Q2)<\/p>\n

Case for: TCU owns a great trio of victories against Florida<\/a>, Wisconsin<\/a> and Iowa State<\/a>. The Horned Frogs have won six of their past seven.<\/p>\n

Case against: The Horned Frogs opened the season with a Quad 4 home loss to New Orleans<\/a> and also lost to Big 12 bottom feeders Utah<\/a> and Colorado<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

VCU<\/p>\n

Record: 22-7 (13-3 Atlantic 10)
WAB rank: 46
Quad 1\/2 record: 5-7
Quad 3\/4 record: 17-0
What’s left: Tuesday vs. George Mason<\/a> (Q3), Friday at Dayton<\/a> (Q1)<\/p>\n

Case for:\u00a0VCU has rattled off victories in 11 of its past 12 games and has early-season wins against South Florida<\/a> and Virginia Tech that are fringe Quad 1 wins.<\/p>\n

Case against:\u00a0The Rams have no victories against projected at-large tournament teams and won’t get one unless it beats Saint Louis<\/a> in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Santa Clara<\/p>\n

Record: 24-7 (15-3 WCC)
WAB rank: 41
Quad 1\/2 record: 8-6
Quad 3\/4 record: 15-1
What’s left: vs. TBD<\/a> on March 8 in WCC Tournament quarterfinals<\/p>\n

Case for: Santa Clara averages out around 40th in both resume and predictive metrics, which is the profile of a likely at-large team.<\/p>\n

Case against: The Broncos have just one victory against an at-large team (Jan. 17 vs. Saint Mary’s<\/a>).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

New Mexico<\/p>\n

Record: 22-7 (13-5 Mountain West)
WAB rank: 45
Quad 1\/2 record: 8-6
Quad 3\/4 record: 13-1
What’s left: Wednesday vs. Colorado State<\/a> (Q3), Saturday at Utah State<\/a> (Q1)<\/p>\n

Case for: New Mexico is a solid 8-6 across Quad 1 and Quad 2 with a profile boosted by December victories over potential at-large teams Santa Clara and VCU.<\/p>\n

Case against: The Lobos are so close to the cut line that they could fall victim to a “bid thief” if some unexpected conference tournament champions emerge.<\/p>\n

First Four Out
\n <\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

VCU<\/p>\n

Record: 20-9 (8-8 ACC)
WAB rank: 51
Quad 1\/2 record: 6-8
Quad 3\/4 record: 13-1
What’s left: Wednesday at Georgia Tech<\/a> (Q3), Saturday at Wake Forest<\/a> (Q1)<\/p>\n

Case for:\u00a0Cal is a respectable 4-4 in Quad 1 and owns victories over projected NCAA Tournament teams UCLA<\/a>, North Carolina<\/a> and Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Case against:\u00a0The Bears lag way behind in predictive metrics and just suffered a 16-point Quad 3 home loss against Pitt.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Auburn<\/p>\n

Record:\u00a015-14 (6-10 A-10)
WAB rank: 47
Quad 1\/2 record: 7-13
Quad 3\/4 record: 8-1
What’s left: Tuesday vs. LSU<\/a> (Q2), Saturday at Alabama<\/a> (Q1)<\/p>\n

Case for: Auburn owns an impressive six victories against projected at-large teams (Florida, St. John’s<\/a>, Arkansas<\/a>, Kentucky<\/a>, NC State<\/a> and Texas<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Case against: The Tigers have dropped seven of their past eight games and are flirting with a .500 record. The latest defeat was a Quad 3 crusher against an Ole Miss<\/a> team that had dropped 10 straight.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Seton Hall<\/p>\n

Record: 19-10 (9-9 Big East)
WAB rank: 55
Quad 1\/2 record: 7-8
Quad 3\/4 record: 12-2
What’s left: Tuesday at Xavier<\/a> (Q2), Friday vs. St. John’s (Q1)<\/p>\n

Case for: If you’re into defense, Seton Hall plays it at an elite level. The Pirates rate 12th in defensive efficiency at KenPom.<\/p>\n

Case against: The Pirates have no victories against projected NCAA Tournament teams since a neutral-site win over NC State on Nov. 24.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"team
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

San Diego State<\/p>\n

Record: 19-9 (13-5 Mountain West)
WAB rank: 52
Quad 1\/2 record: 7-8
Quad 3\/4 record: 11-1
What’s left: Tuesday at Boise State<\/a> (Q1), Friday vs. UNLV<\/a> (Q3)<\/p>\n

Case for:\u00a0With a KenPom ranking of 42nd and a Torvik ranking of 41st, predictive metrics suggest the Aztecs are a stronger team than some others on the bubble.<\/p>\n

Case against: San Diego State has just one victory over a projected at-large team (Feb. 25 vs. Utah State) and it came at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ohio State finally earned a marquee victory on Sunday, knocking off No. 8 Purdue 82-74 for an unassailable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[778,414,2698,2747,75147,2746,3689,793,794,784,10527,2692,75142,75143,75144,6625,10529,2768,67681,4857,75148,75150,2745,116,118,117,67077,782,788,4861,2742,763,75146,768,4860,2764,789,538,75149,786,774,795,2750,787,9817,776,14843,33734,9819,75145,781,797,769,2744,6624,791,57717,19643,10525,58400,5312,25650,57716,7284,765,4858,2696,75151,35108,783,790,260,537,415,792,777,767,5322,780,796,57715,26073,762,9815,9812,9814,4859,35002],"class_list":["post-188716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-arizona-state-sun-devils","tag-arizona-wildcats","tag-arkansas-razorbacks","tag-auburn-basketball","tag-auburn-tigers","tag-baylor-bears","tag-boise-state-broncos","tag-byu-cougars","tag-cincinnati-bearcats","tag-clemson-tigers","tag-college-basketball","tag-college-basketball-bracketology","tag-college-basketball-bubble-watch","tag-college-basketball-ncaa-tournament","tag-colorado-buffaloes","tag-colorado-state-rams","tag-creighton-bluejays","tag-dayton-flyers","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-field-of-68","tag-first-four-out","tag-florida-gators","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-george-mason-patriots","tag-georgia-bulldogs","tag-georgia-tech-yellow-jackets","tag-gonzaga-bulldogs","tag-houston-cougars","tag-illinois-fighting-illini","tag-indiana-basketball","tag-indiana-hoosiers","tag-iowa-state-cyclones","tag-kansas-jayhawks","tag-kansas-state-wildcats","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-last-four-in","tag-lsu-tigers","tag-miami-fla-hurricanes","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-mississippi-state-bulldogs","tag-missouri-tigers","tag-nc-state-wolfpack","tag-nebraska-cornhuskers","tag-new-mexico-lobos","tag-new-orleans-privateers","tag-north-carolina-tar-heels","tag-ohio-state-basketball","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-ole-miss-rebels","tag-oregon-ducks","tag-oregon-state-beavers","tag-pittsburgh-panthers","tag-purdue-boilermakers","tag-saint-louis-billikens","tag-saint-marys-gaels","tag-san-diego-state-aztecs","tag-san-francisco-dons","tag-san-jose-state-spartans","tag-santa-clara-broncos","tag-seton-hall-pirates","tag-smu-mustangs","tag-south-florida-bulls","tag-st-johns-red-storm","tag-stanford-cardinal","tag-tbd-tbd","tag-tcu-basketball","tag-tcu-horned-frogs","tag-tennessee-volunteers","tag-texas-am-aggies","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-texas-tech-red-raiders","tag-ucla-bruins","tag-unlv-rebels","tag-usc-trojans","tag-utah-state-aggies","tag-utah-utes","tag-vanderbilt-commodores","tag-vcu-rams","tag-villanova-wildcats","tag-virginia-cavaliers","tag-virginia-tech-hokies","tag-wake-forest-demon-deacons","tag-west-virginia-mountaineers","tag-wisconsin-badgers","tag-xavier-musketeers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}