Conference tournaments are the last chance for teams on the bubble to make it to the NCAA Tournament to put their case to the selection committee. Or they can make the decision out of their hands by winning their league’s automatic bid. We can also see teams winning their tournaments that can in no other way steal a bid and thus drop someone else’s bubble.
Here’s a bubbling conference by conference through this week’s most important conference tournaments.
You do not have to wait until the field of 68 is announced to fill in your brackets. Play Conference Bracket Challenge hosted by Hertz and select the tournaments for a cash prize of $ 10,000 or start a pool and compete against friends. No purchase required, see Rules for details.
ACC
ACC Tournament Schedule
This one can be wide open. There are some good teams in this league, but there are no big groups, which offers a greater chance for a run.
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Syracuse – The Orange starts the week as the second team outside my series. The most important aspect of it is the lack of quality-winning away from home. They are only 2-7 away from home. The better of the two wins is at NC State.
NC State The Wolfpack is a late addition to the bubble and their stay can be short. They have won five in a row to reach four games above the 500, but only victory in Virginia is important. This is their only Quad 1 win and they are just 4-8 against the top two quadrants. It’s going to take a deep point to get the selection committee’s attention.
Steal potential bids
Duke After playing themselves off the bubble, the Blue Devils are just five wins away from a spot on the field. They need to channel that mojo they had a few weeks ago when they got hot.
American Athletics Conference
AAC Tournament Schedule
Houston is the only sure thing, although the champion of the regular season Wichita State has been looking better lately. For a team to get a place to sleep, they will probably have to go through the Cougars.
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Wichita State – The Shockers finally won the regular season and beat Houston along the way. They also did not play SMU at all due to COVID issues with the Mustangs and only played Memphis once, which was a 20-point defeat. They need to be ready as long as they lose to Houston. Any other loss makes things nervous.
Memphis The Tigers came anxiously close to getting the big win over Houston they need to resume its tournament. The big win over Wichita State is nice, but it’s hard to see Memphis as a great team without beating the Cougars. They also have two losses against Tulsa that hold them back.
SMU We do not know much about the 11-4 Mustangs, which have been sidelined with COVID releases since February 8th. They were swept by Houston and separated from Memphis in the regular season. They also lost at home to Cincinnati, which is the only result that really stands out. They are not put in brackets so they can play Houston before the final of the conference. If they get that far, we’ll have to see if the Wichita state is enough to beat.
Steal potential bids
SMU – Although I have the Mustangs as a bubble team, they may have to win the conference tournament to get in.
Big 12
Big 12 tournament schedule
With seven dominant teams this season, there are no bubble teams or likely bidders.
Great east
Big East tournament schedule
It has been a difficult year for the Great East with COVID and injury problems, and there may not be many teams in the field. Three looks in the top half of the bracket, but there are a few others that might not make it.
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Xavier The Musketeers started well this season, but they derailed by COVID. They have lost five of their last seven and only one of those losses has made a probable NCAA tournament team. Home wins over Creighton and Oklahoma keep them going for now, but the margin of error is very small
St. John’s – The Johnnies are a long shot. They had some big wins against Villanova and Creighton, but lost at home to Marquette and DePaul. If they do not come in, that will be the reason.
Steal potential bids
Marquette The Golden Eagles were hot on the piece and have won four of their last five, including one in North Carolina. There is something to be said for being warm at the right time.
Big ten
Big Ten Tournament Schedule
The bubble was liquid in the Big Ten this season, with at least four teams spending time there. Recently, the state of Michigan was the team to watch, but suddenly Maryland is back for another spin.
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Michigan State The Spartans made a remarkable turn from death in the water to the center of the bracket. The only thing they can hit back now is a loss in the first ten rounds of the Big Ten tournament, and even that may not be enough.
Maryland Just a week ago, Maryland claimed its fifth consecutive win, beating Michigan at home by 18 to move to 14-10 with games over Northwestern and Penn State. The Terrapins only had to win one of them to be safe in the field. Instead, they have made great strides in both games and are now going into the Big Ten tournament at 14-12. A loss in the opening batsman to drop to 14-13 on Sunday makes for a very nervous choice. The selection committee will have a hard time swallowing a team one game above 500, even in a pandemic season.
Steal potential bids
Penn state – There are not many good choices here. Healthy Minnesota will be great, but it’s not a thing. Indiana has talent, but often seems lost. Penn State had some great moments this season. The Nittany Lions swept Maryland, beating Wisconsin, VCU and Rutgers at home and winning at Virginia Tech. Can they win five wins in a row in this tournament? Probably not, but they will argue.
Mountain west
MWC Tournament Schedule
This league brought the bubble to the bone, with only the regular San Diego State champion, who was not among the four potential NCAA tournament teams. Boise State is among my last four at the beginning of the week, while Utah State is among the first four.
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Colorado – The Rams are a game under .500 against Quad 1 and also Quad 2, but they have no other losses. Their schedule is just so-so and everything good they did played in the league. They need to get it right if they can avoid an upset.
Boise State The Broncos struggled at the end of the season and lost three in a row. The first two losses were in the state of San Diego, which was not a problem, but the third one was at home in the Quad 4 Fresno States. They were also swept by Nevada in the regular season. They have the only Quad 1 non-conference victory in the league hosted at BYU.
Utah State The Aggies finished second in the conference, but were hampered by two Q3 losses, one of which came in a non-conference game. They are just 3-5 against Quads 1 and 2 and all three wins have come home.
Steal potential bid
Nevada The Wolf Pack played some great moments in the conference, including a playoff game from Boise State and a win over Colorado State in their only event this season. They have too many bad losses to be a great team, but could be dangerous this week.
Pac-12
Pac-12 tournament schedule
The Pac-12 has had a tough time in non-conference games, and it will likely appear in lower seeds for its better teams. My current bracket has USC as the best Pac-12 team and the Trojans are only a six. It is said that there is only one team still bubbling, and this is one of the blossoms of the sport in a year that was rough in that group of teams. Arizona would also be a bubble team, but they took a self-imposed post-season ban.
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UCLA The Bruins hit the slides late in the season and are in a losing streak of three games entering the Pac-12 tournament. They are still on the high side of the bubble and should be good if they can avoid a bad loss.
Steal potential bids
Stanford Despite leading a nomadic existence early on, the Cardinal started well this season and has a win over Alabama. However, they struggled and lost four in a row. If they can find their form, they have the chance to be dangerous.
SEC
SEC Tournament Schedule
The SEC has moved a few teams this season, but six teams are solid in the field and there is only one left. This team is out of the first four.
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Ole Mej The Rebels have shot themselves in the foot enough times that it will be difficult to make the tournament as an athlete, but it is not impossible. They finished strong and won seven of their last night, but one of the losses was one of two in Quad 3. There are potential quality wins ahead of them if they can get out there.
Steal potential bids
Georgia – The Bulldogs have enough hits to be dangerous, but can they string four in a row? They have wins over LSU, Missouri, Mississippi and Auburn, so they need to be taken seriously.