Last Eight In: Vanderbilt, Rhode Island, USC, Syracuse, Providence, Kansas State, Wake Forest, Marquette
First Eight Out: Illinois State, Xavier, California, Houston, Utah, Iowa, Mississippi, Illinois
The longer one stares at the bubble, the more one can find reasons for every team being in and out this year. There have been quite a few teams that played their way into hope over the last couple of weeks and surely there will be more during championship week. One team that cannot do anything at this point is Illinois State. The Redbirds, again, got crushed by Wichita State. Maybe it says more about Wichita State, but the way Illinois State lost does not help their case for the NCAA Tournament. When a team like Xavier wins a Big East tournament game or Illinois or Iowa pull off an upset along the way, the chatter about Illinois State will disappear. And their resume is not bad, but it would not be surprising to see the committee select a team that has more big wins, especially big wins that will be coming this week. Meanwhile, the Redbirds have to hope that bubble teams lose quickly this week, which is not really possible when the entire Big East is on the bubble.
ACC: Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
American: Cincinnati, SMU
Big East: Butler, Creighton, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova
Big 12: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia
Big Ten: Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin
Pac-12: Arizona, Oregon, UCLA, USC
SEC: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
A-10: Dayton, Rhode Island, VCU
CAA: UNC Wilmington
C-USA: Middle Tennessee
Horizon: Northern Kentucky
MAC: Akron
MVC: Wichita State*
MWC: Nevada
WCC: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s
America East: Vermont
A-Sun: Florida Gulf Coast*
Big Sky: Eastern Washington
Big South: Winthrop*
Big West: UC Irvine
Ivy League: Princeton
MAAC: Iona
MEAC: North Carolina Central
NEC: Mt. St. Mary’s
OVC: Jacksonville State*
Patriot: Bucknell
Southern: East Tennessee State
Southland: New Orleans
Summit: North Dakota State
Sun Belt: Texas-Arlington
SWAC: Texas Southern
WAC: New Mexico State
