Sure enough, Wednesday was a very interesting day in college basketball and on the bubble. Specifically, two bubble teams suffered bad losses and early conference tournament exits that will now leave them sweating bullets until Sunday.
We'll start in the ACC. Wake Forest, the No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament, was taken down in overtime by Boston College, the No. 13 seed. That's a late Quad 3 loss for the Deacons, giving them two such losses. They also lost at Louisville back on December 29. This also means their poor non-conference schedule will come more into focus. Their hope is that their wins over North Carolina and Notre Dame will be enough to put them over the top. For now, Wake is still in. But there are plenty of teams and plenty of time that Wake can easily slide out with the right results.
Similar story for Xavier, who completely crumbled down the stretch. This was a team that started 11-1 and even 16-5. They'll enter Selection Sunday 18-13 and one-and-done in the Big East after poor free-throw shooting doomed them in their overtime loss to Butler in the Big East first round. That's two Quad 3 losses now for X, as they also have a home loss to DePaul on their resume. However, they have some of the stronger wins among bubble teams, including Ohio State, Connecticut and a sweep of Creighton. Will those wins outweigh the losses and overcome the late-season slide? Xavier is still in for now, but like Wake, it's a wait-and-see game as we enter the weekend.
We're now officially at 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament as Colgate wrapped up a dominating Patriot League season with a 74-58 win over Navy in the final. It's the second straight Patriot League title and third in the last four years for Colgate, who is projected as a No. 14 seed in the NCAAs. Remember, this was a team that has eventual Elite Eight participant Arkansas on the ropes in the first round last season. This team is dangerous.
Also, a big upset in the Metro Atlantic. Rick Pitino and the Iona Gaels will not be dancing. They were upset by No. 9 seed Rider Wednesday, meaning that for the first time since 2015 (Manhattan), someone other than Iona will represent the MAAC in the dance. For now, the projected team is No. 2 seed Saint Peter's, who defeated Fairfield in the quarters.
Here's the full list of automatic qualifiers so far, followed by the updated bracket. This list will stay until Saturday, when 15 tickets will be punched.
- Bryant - Northeast
- Colgate - Patriot
- Chattanooga - Southern
- Delaware - Colonial
- Georgia State - Sun Belt
- Gonzaga - West Coast
- Jacksonville State - Atlantic Sun
- Longwood - Big South
- Loyola Chicago - Missouri Valley
- Murray State - Ohio Valley
- South Dakota State - Summit
- Wright State - Horizon League
Last Four Byes: Creighton, Michigan, San Francisco, Wyoming
Last Four In: Rutgers, Xavier, Wake Forest, SMU
First Four Out: BYU, Indiana, Dayton, VCU
Next Four Out: Florida, Virginia Tech, Oregon, St. Bonaventure
Also on the board: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Virginia
Conference Breakdown:
Big Ten - 8
Big East - 7
Big 12 - 6
SEC - 6
ACC - 5
Mountain West - 4
American Athletic - 3
Pac-12 - 3
West Coast - 3
One-bid leagues - 23
Here's a look now at the full slate of games today, including the last of the tournaments to kick off in the American Athletic and the MAC.
American Athletic First Round (in Fort Worth, TX)
No. 9 East Carolina vs. No. 8 Cincinnati, 1:00, ESPNU
No. 10 Tulsa vs. No. 7 Wichita State, 3:30, ESPNU
No. 11 South Florida vs. No. 6 UCF, 7:00, ESPNU
Atlantic 10 Second Round (in Washington, D.C.)
No. 9 George Mason vs. No. 8 Fordham, 12:00, USA
No. 12 La Salle vs. No. 5 Saint Louis, 2:30, USA
No. 10 UMass vs. No. 7 George Washington, 6:00, USA
No. 11 Rhode Island vs. No. 6 Richmond, 8:30, USA
ACC Quarterfinals (in Brooklyn, NY)
No. 9 Syracuse vs. No. 1 Duke, 12:00, ESPN
No. 13 Boston College vs. No. 4 Miami (FL), 2:30, ESPN2
No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7:00, ESPN2
No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 3 North Carolina, 9:30, ESPN
Big 12 Quarterfinals (in Kansas City, MO)
No. 5 TCU vs. No. 4 Texas, 12:30, ESPN2
No. 9 West Virginia vs. No. 1 Kansas, 3:00, ESPN
No. 7 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Baylor, 7:00, ESPN
No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, 9:30, ESPN2
Big East Quarterfinals (in New York, NY)
No. 9 Butler vs. No. 1 Providence, 12:00, FS1
No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 4 Creighton, 2:30, FS1
No. 7 St. John's vs. No. 2 Villanova, 7:00, FS1
No. 6 Seton Hall vs. No. 3 UConn, 9:30, FS1
Big Sky Quarterfinals (in Boise, ID)
No. 8 Sacramento State vs. No. 1 Montana State, 2:00, ESPN+
No. 5 Montana vs. No. 4 Weber State, 4:30, ESPN+
No. 7 Portland State vs. No. 2 Southern Utah, 7:30, ESPN+
No. 6 Eastern Washington vs. No. 3 Northern Colorado, 10:00, ESPN+
Big Ten Second Round (in Indianapolis, IN)
No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Michigan, 11:30, BTN
No. 12 Northwestern vs. No. 5 Iowa, 2:00, BTN
No. 10 Maryland vs. No. 7 Michigan State, 6:30, BTN
No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 6 Ohio State, 9:00, BTN
Big West Quarterfinals (in Henderson, NV)
No. 9 Cal State Bakersfield vs. No. 1 Long Beach State, 3:00, ESPN+
No. 5 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 4 UC Irvine, 5:30, ESPN+
No. 7 UC Davis vs. No. 2 Cal State Fullerton, 9:00, ESPN+
No. 6 UC Riverside vs. No. 3 Hawaii, 11:30, ESPN+
Conference USA Quarterfinals (in Frisco, TX)
No. W5 Rice vs. No. W1 North Texas, 6:30, Stadium
No. W3 Louisiana Tech vs. No. E2 Western Kentucky, 7:00, Stadium
No. W4 UTEP vs. No. E1 Middle Tennessee, 9:00, Stadium
No. E3 Florida Atlantic vs. No. W2 UAB, 9:30, Stadium
MAAC Quarterfinals (in Atlantic City, NJ)
No. 11 Quinnipiac vs. No. 3 Siena, 7:00, ESPN+
No. 5 Niagara vs. No. 4 Monmouth, 9:30, ESPN+
MAC Quarterfinals (in Cleveland, OH)
No. 8 Central Michigan vs. No. 1 Toledo, 11:00, ESPN+
No. 5 Buffalo vs. No. 4 Akron, 1:30, ESPN+
No. 7 Miami (OH) vs. No. 2 Kent State, 4:00, ESPN+
No. 6 Ball State vs. No. 3 Ohio, 6:30, ESPN+
MEAC Quarterfinals (in Norfolk, VA)
No. 5 South Carolina State vs. No. 4 Morgan State, 6:00, ESPN+
No. 6 Maryland-Eastern Shore vs. No. 3 North Carolina Central. 8:30, ESPN+
Mountain West Quarterfinals (in Las Vegas, NV)
No. 8 Nevada vs. No. 1 Boise State, 3:00, CBSSN
No. 5 UNLV vs. No. 4 Wyoming, 5:30, CBSSN
No. 7 Utah State vs. No. 2 Colorado State, 9:00, CBSSN
No. 6 Fresno State vs. No. 3 San Diego State, 11:30, CBSSN
Pac-12 Quarterfinals (in Las Vegas, NV)
No. 9 Stanford vs. No. 1 Arizona, 3:00, Pac-12 Networks
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Colorado, 5:30, Pac-12 Networks
No. 7 Washington State vs. No. 2 UCLA, 9:00, Pac-12 Networks
No. 6 Washington vs. No. 3 USC, 11:30, FS1
SEC Second Round (in Tampa, FL)
No. 9 Florida vs. No. 8 Texas A&M, 12:00, SEC Network
No. 12 Missouri vs. No. 5 LSU, 2:30, SECN
No. 10 Mississippi State vs. No. 7 South Carolina, 6:00, SECN
No. 11 Vanderbilt vs. No. 6 Alabama, 8:30, SECN
Southland Quarterfinals (in Katy, TX)
No. 5 Houston Baptist vs. No. 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6:00, ESPN+
No. 7 McNeese State vs. No. 3 New Orleans, 8:30, ESPN+
SWAC Quarterfinals (in Birmingham, AL)
No. 6 Grambling State vs. No. 3 Southern, 3:00, ESPN+
No. 5 Alabama A&M vs. No. 4 Florida A&M, 9:30, ESPN+
WAC Quarterfinals (in Las Vegas, NV)
No. 5 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 Grand Canyon, 9:00, ESPN+
No. 6 Abilene Christian vs. No. 3 Stephen F. Austin, 11:30, ESPN+
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