Bubble Watch: Wednesday's Games That Impact Indiana's NCAA Tournament Hopes

The most important part of Wednesday's college basketball slate for Indiana is taking care of business against No. 15 seed Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. ET in the Big Ten Tournament.

But sitting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Hoosiers don't necessarily control their own destiny to the big dance, unless they were to make a highly unlikely run to win the Big Ten Tournament. So leading up to Selection Sunday, there will be a fair amount of scoreboard watching.

Indiana is the last team in the NCAA Tournament, according to Joe Lunardi's updated Bracketology from late Tuesday night. But CBS Sports disagrees, and doesn't even consider the Hoosiers among the first four out as of Wednesday morning. Of the 129 projections on BracketMatrix.com, 66 include the Hoosiers, which puts them in the NCAA Tournament field as a No. 11 seed in the First Four.

Indiana can essentially cancel any NCAA Tournament plans if it loses Wednesday to Northwestern. Another win over Purdue on Thursday could be enough for an at-large bid, but it'll depend on other bubble results and bid stealers from mid-major conferences.

Here are a few important bubble games to watch on Wednesday, with impact on Indiana's NCAA Tournament chances and point spreads by the DraftKings Sportsbook.

No. 15 Pittsburgh (13-19) vs. No. 7 NC State (19-12)

Time, TV: Noon ET, ESPN2
Indiana’s rooting interest: Pittsburgh
Point spread: NC State -9.5

No. 12 Arizona State (17-15) vs. No. 5 Iowa State (25-6)

Time, TV: 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Indiana’s rooting interest: Iowa State
Point spread: Iowa State -11.5

No. 11 SMU (20-12) vs. No. 6 Louisville (22-9)

Time, TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Indiana’s rooting interest: Louisville
Point spread: Louisville -6.5

No. 13 Mississippi State (13-18) vs. No. 12 Auburn (16-15)

Time, TV: 3 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Indiana’s rooting interest: Mississippi State
Point spread: Auburn -7.5

No. 9 Cincinnati (18-14) vs. No. 8 UCF (20-10)

Time, TV: 3 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Indiana’s rooting interest: UCF
Point spread: Cincinnati -2.5

No. 15 Ole Miss (12-19) vs. No. 10 Texas (18-13)

Time, TV: 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Indiana’s rooting interest: Ole Miss
Point spread: Texas -6.5

No. 10 BYU (22-10) vs. No. 7 West Virginia (18-13)

Time, TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Indiana’s rooting interest: BYU
Point spread: BYU -4.5

No. 9 California (21-10) vs. No. 8 Florida State (17-14)

Time, TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Indiana’s rooting interest: Florida State
Point spread: Florida State -4.5

No. 14 South Carolina (13-18) vs. No. 11 Oklahoma (17-14)

Time, TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Indiana’s rooting interest: South Carolina
Point spread: Oklahoma -7.5

No. 14 Oklahoma State (19-13) vs. No. 6 TCU (21-10)

Time, TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Indiana’s rooting interest: Oklahoma State
Point spread: TCU -5.5

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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