Bubble Watch: Who’s in and who’s out? – Stanford safe for now, Texas with a pulse

The regular season is almost over and that means teams on the bubble are running out of opportunities to boost their resume for the NCAA Tournament.

LIfe on the bubble can be frustrating.

There are plenty of teams still hoping to hear good news on Selection Sunday. Stanford, in particular, helped themselves big time by defeating then-No. 21 Colorado on Sunday. The Cardinal has flirted with the bubble, but now it seems they are close to a lock sitting atop the “last four in” according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Joining them on that list is Rutgers, Cincinnati and Utah State.

Rutgers, who looked like a lock for much of the winter, has fallen from the “last four bye” group after losing four of their last five games. They have a chance to lock themselves in with a win over Maryland on Tuesday night.

Taking the Scarlet Knight’s place on the “last four bye” list is Wichita State, who boosted their resume with a victory over SMU over the weekend. With one week left to play, it would be hard to see the Shockers falling out of the tournament barring a major meltdown and some great play from the teams below them. They will take on two of the better teams in the American to finish their season against Memphis and Tulsa.

Also on the “last four bye” list is USC, Arizona State and Indiana. The Trojans got a victory over Arizona State over the weekend but it didn’t seem to affect either team’s seeding.

While those teams are on their way to making the Tournament, teams in the “last four out” are still fighting for their chance to be in the Tournament. Texas was the big mover over the weekend as they moved to the last four out list with a win at then-No. 22 Texas Tech.

The Longhorns have surged over the last few weeks with four straight victories heading into the week. With Oklahoma next on the schedule, the Longhorns have a chance to add another quality win to their resume.

If Texas can win their last two games against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, as well as make a decent run in the Big 12 Conference Tournament, the committee will have a hard time keeping them out despite their struggles this season.

N.C. State, Mississippi State and Richmond also find themselves on the outside looking in this week. N.C. State, despite some quality wins this season, is still on the outside looking in. Their 19-point loss to Duke on Monday night doesn’t look good for their postseason chances.

Rounding out Lunardi’s list is the “next four out” which includes Rhode Island, Purdue, Memphis and South Carolina. The only chance these four teams have of making the NCAA Tournament is to win their conference tournaments. Of the candidates, Memphis has a chance of pulling off a run.

The conference tournaments provide great theater and drama for the fans. It’s a nice appetizer to the main course that is March Madness. And Selection Sunday on March 15 will be a day that is a happy one of celebration or a defacto funeral for the end of several teams with a chance of making the Big Dance.

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