Wednesday was a brutal day for teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Indiana, California, SMU, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Texas all lost at their respective conference tournaments.
That leaves the door open for teams like Auburn, and even Oklahoma, to slip into the field of 68. If the Tigers can manage to beat Tennessee in Thursday’s SEC tournament second round, they’d almost certainly be able to overcome the 15 losses that weighs their resume down.
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The Sooners (18-14) get a shot at Texas A&M in the SEC second round, and while they may have more work to do than Auburn, if they keep winning while all the other bubble teams are already at home, who knows?
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Heck, in the ACC, even Florida State has some renewed hope. Beat No. 1 Duke in Thursday’s ACC tournament quarterfinal and perhaps the Seminoles (18-14) can leapfrog into March Madness.
And then there’s the curious case of Miami (Ohio). The MAC tournament begins Thursday and the 31-0 RedHawks open against UMass. The record may be unblemished, but Miami’s metrics don’t make an at-large bid a sure thing. But undoubtedly the RedHawks were helped by Wednesday’s bubble carnage.
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Fourteen teams have already punched their tournament tickets in Long Island (NEC), Queens (Atlantic Sun), High Point (Big South), Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley), Tennessee State (OVC), Furman (SoCon), North Dakota State (Summit League), Troy (Sun Belt), Gonzaga (WCC), Siena (MAAC), Wright State (Horizon), Hofstra (CAA), McNeese State (Southland) and Idaho (Big Sky).
March Madness automatic bids: Who is in NCAA Tournament bracket?
Here’s a the latest look at how the NCAA Tournament bracket may look on Selection Sunday. We’ll be providing live updates, so be sure to hit refresh for latest seedings.
March Madness bracket update: 2 a.m., March 12
Last updated: 2 a.m., Thursday, March 12
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* bold means automatic berth clinched.
Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Florida
Connecticut, Houston, Illinois, Michigan State
Iowa State, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Gonzaga
Purdue, Alabama, Virginia, Kansas
Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Tennessee, Wisconsin
North Carolina, St. John’s, Louisville, Brigham Young
Kentucky, Miami (Fla.), Utah State, Saint Mary’s
Villanova, Iowa, Saint Louis, Georgia
Clemson, TCU, UCLA, North Carolina State
Central Florida, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Missouri
Texas, Miami (Ohio), SMU/Virginia Commonwealth, Santa Clara/Auburn
Northern Iowa, Yale, South Florida, McNeese State
Hofstra, Utah Valley, High Point, Sam Houston State
UC Irvine, North Dakota State, Wright State, Troy
Tennessee State, Siena, Furman, Idaho
Queens (N.C.), Long Island, Maryland-Baltimore County/Florida A&M, Howard/Lehigh
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March Madness last four in
March Madness first four out
March Madness next four out
NCAA Tournament bids conference breakdown
Multi-bid leagues: SEC (11), Big Ten (9), ACC (8), Big 12 (8), Big East (3), West Coast (3), Atlantic 10 (2), Mountain West (2).
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness bracket predictions, updates NCAA Tournament bracketology
