Louisville Bubble Watch: March 12 Update
(Photo of Louisville Players: Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - We are just two days away from Selection Sunday, meaning the Louisville men’s basketball program only has two days left to worry if they will claim an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.
Fortunately, Thursday’s slate of games involving ‘bubble’ teams was kind to the Cardinals. Syracuse, St. John’s and Boise State, three teams who were making late season pushes to crack the field of 68 and possibly supplant Louisville in the tournament, all lost in their respective conference tournaments.
That being said, while the Cardinals should be in line to hear their name called this upcoming Sunday, they are not out of the woods yet. Several bubble teams that are on the outside looking are still alive, and could possibly prevent Louisville from going to the Big Dance if enough of them punch their tickets.
Here are those teams that could burst Louisville's proverbial bubble, as of Friday, Mar. 11:
Seton Hall (14-12, 10-9 BE): The Big East still has three NCAA Tournament 'locks' in Villanova, Creighton and UConn. With ‘Nova’s upset loss to Georgetown, it now sets up a semifinal matchup with Seton Hall, after the Pirates dispatched St. John’s. Quite frankly, whichever team that wins here could steal a bid, with the other Big East Tournament semifinal pitting UConn against Creighton.
- Next Game: Friday, Mar. 12 at 6:00 p.m. EST vs. Georgetown (FS1)
Utah State (18-7, 15-4 MW) or Colorado State (17-5, 14-4 MW): With Boise State losing on Thursday, now the Mountain West has one guaranteed lock for the Big Dance in San Diego State, who plays Nevada on Friday. Utah State and Colorado State square off against each other Friday in the semifinals as well, so the best case scenario would be for San Diego State to outright win the Mountain West Tournament.
- Next Game: Friday, Mar. 12 at 11:59 p.m. EST (CBS Sports Network)
Ole Miss (16-10, 10-8 SEC): After taking care of South Carolina in the second round of the SEC Tournament, the Rebels have now worked themselves up to ‘First Team Out’ status according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Should Ole Miss win one more game, they might be good to go dancing.
- Next Game: Friday, Mar. 12 at 9:00 p.m. EST vs. LSU (SEC Network)
Memphis (16-7, 11-4 AAC): The American Athletic Conference is a two bid league as of now with Houston and Wichita State considered locks, but the Tigers could change that. Considering they'll be an under .500 UCF, there's a good chance they could advance to the semis and put themselves into consideration for the 'Last Four In'.
- Next Game: Friday, Mar. 12 at 10:00 p.m. EST vs. UCF (ESPNU)
SMU (11-4, 7-4 AAC): The Mustangs are slowly putting together a resume that might be good enough for an at-large bid despite only playing 15 regular season games. They’ve currently worked their way on to the bubble, and a couple wins in the AAC Tournament could very well be good enough to get to the NCAA Tournament.
- Next Game: Friday, Mar. 12 at 3:00 p.m. EST vs. Cincinnati (ESPN2)
VCU (19-6, 10-4 A10): Calling the Rams a bubble teams is a bit of a stretch, but if they lose in the Atlantic 10 Championship to St. Bonaventure, they very well could not end up hearing their name called on Selection Sunday. Or at the very least, Louisville could jump them for a better seed.
- Next Game: Sunday, Mar. 14 at 1:00 p.m. EST vs. St. Bonaventure (CBS)
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