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USA TODAY Sports’ Scott Gleeson breaks down the field heading toward selection Sunday.
USA TODAY
With less than a week until Selection Sunday determines NCAA tournament bubble teams’ postseason fates, power conference tournaments create one last opportunity for fringe teams to either win their league’s automatic berth or advance far enough to bolster their résumés with the selection committee.
Here’s a look at the 20 bubble teams still remaining and sweating it out big time until Selection Sunday:
CONFERENCE BREAKDOWN
Breakdown data, compiled by bracketologist Shelby Mast, is updated through games as of March 10. Seeds are from USA TODAY Sports’ latest bracketology.
American Athletic Conference
Locks: N/A | Probable: Houston
► Wichita State (In — No. 11): 23-8 (11-7) 41 NET 75 SoS, 123 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Oklahoma, Virginia Commonwealth, South Carolina, Memphis, Tulsa
- The Bad: Loss vs. Temple
► Cincinnati (First Four Out): 20-10 (13-5) 51 NET, 27 SoS, 21 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Houston, Wichita State (twice), Memphis, Tennessee
- The Bad: Losses vs. Colgate, Bowling Green, Tulane
► Memphis (Out): 21-10 (10-8) 58 NET 72 SoS, 127 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Tennessee, North Carolina State, Cincinnati, Wichita State
- The Bad: Losses vs. Georgia, South Florida
POSTSEASON LINEUP: Complete conference tournament schedule
BRACKETOLOGY: Big East positioned to put stamp on March Madness
FINAL OPPORTUNITY: Conference tournaments offer hope to all teams in every leagues
Atlantic 10
Locks: Dayton | Probable: N/A
► Richmond (In — No. 12): 24-7 (14-4) 48 NET, 88 SoS, 77 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Virginia Commonwealth
- The Bad: Loss to Radford, St. Bonaventure
► Rhode Island (Out): 21-9 (13-5) 57 NET, 55 SoS, 29 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Virginia Commonwealth, Alabama, Providence
- The Bad: Loss to Brown
► Saint Louis (Out): 23-8 (12-6) 49 NET, 87 SoS, 113 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Belmont, Richmond, Rhode Island
- The Bad: Losses to Duquesne (twice), Massachusetts
Atlantic Coast Conference
Locks: Duke, Louisville, Florida State, Virginia | Probable: N/A
► North Carolina State (In — No. 12): 19-12 (10-10) 61 NET 72 SOS, 96 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Wisconsin, Virginia, Syracuse, Notre Dame
- The Bad: Losses vs. Georgia Tech, North Carolina (twice), Boston College
Big 12
Locks: Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia | Probable: Oklahoma
► Texas Tech (In — No. 11): 18-13 (9-9) 22 NET, 51 SoS, 190 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Louisville, West Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma
- The Bad: No bad losses.
► Texas (First Four Out): 19-12 (9-9) 69 NET, 38 SoS, 118 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Texas Tech, Purdue, West Virginia
- The Bad: No bad losses
Big East
Locks: Seton Hall, Villanova, Creighton, Butler, Providence | Probable: Marquette
► Xavier (In, No. 10): 19-12 (8-10) 44 NET, 5 SoS, 56 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Providence
- The Bad: Loss to UNC-Greensboro
Big Ten
Locks: Maryland, Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin | Probable: N/A
► Rutgers (In — No. 10): 20-11 (11-9) 32 NET, 47 SoS, 110 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Seton Hall, Maryland, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue (twice), Illinois, Indiana
- The Bad: No bad losses.
► Indiana (In — No. 11): 19-12 (9-11) 59 NET, 54 SoS, 83 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Michigan State, Florida State, Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State
- The Bad: No bad losses
► Purdue (Out): 16-15 (9-11) 33 NET, 41 SoS, 68 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana (twice), Virginia
- The Bad: Loss to Nebraska
Pac-12
Locks: Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State | Probable: Southern California
► Stanford (In — No. 11): 20-11 (9-9) 30 NET, 82 SoS, 212 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Oregon, Oklahoma, UCLA, Colorado
- The Bad: Losses to Utah, California, Oregon State
► UCLA (Out): 19-12 (12-6) 76 NET, 50 SoS, 193 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Arizona (twice), Colorado (twice), Stanford, Arizona State
- The Bad: Losses to Hofstra, Cal-State Fullerton, Washington State, North Carolina
SEC
Locks: Auburn, Kentucky, LSU | Probable: N/A
► Florida (In — No. 11): 19-12 (11-7) 28 NET, 15 SoS, 10 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Auburn, Xavier, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Providence, LSU
- The Bad: Losses to Missouri, Mississippi
► Arkansas (Out): 19-12 (7-11) 47 NET, 26 SoS, 17 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Alabama, Indiana, LSU, Tulsa
- The Bad: Losses to Missouri, Western Kentucky
► Mississippi State (Out): 20-11 (11-7) 50 NET, 68 SoS, 104 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Florida, Arkansas (twice), Tennessee, Alabama
- The Bad: Losses to Ole Miss, Louisiana, Tech, New Mexico State
► Tennessee (Out):17-14 (9-9) 63 NET, 9 SoS, 16 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, South Carolina, Florida
- The Bad: Losses to Georgia, Texas A&M
Mid-Majors
Locks: Gonzaga, San Diego State, Dayton, Brigham Young, Saint Mary’s
► Northern Iowa (Out): 25-6 (14-4) 48 NET, 116 SoS, 112 NonCon SoS
- The Good: Wins vs. Colorado, South Carolina
- The Bad: Losses to Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Drake
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NCAA tourney Language Explainer:
- Quadrant 1 wins: Home games vs. 1-30 NET teams; Neutral-site games vs. 1-50 NET; Away games vs. 1-75 NET
- Quadrant 2 wins: Home games vs. 31-75 NET; Neutral-site games vs. 51-100 NET; Away games vs. 76-135 NET
- Quadrant 3 wins, losses: Home games vs. 76-160 NET; Neutral-site games vs. 101-200 NET; Away games vs. 136-240 NET
- Quadrant 4 wins, losses: Home games vs. 161-plus NET; Neutral-site games vs. 201-plus NET; Away games vs. 241-plus NET
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Note: Mostly all statistical data is used from WarrenNolan.com. The NCAA’s NET rankings are also a reference point.
About our bracketologist: Shelby Mast has been projecting the field since 2005 on his website, Bracket W.A.G. He joined USA TODAY in 2014. In his seventh season as our national bracketologist, Mast has finished as one of the top three bracketologists in the past six March Madnesses. He’s also predicted for The Indianapolis Star, collegeinsider.com and is an inaugural member of the Super 10 Selection Committee. Follow him on Twitter @BracketWag.
Follow college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.