March Madness 2024 Bubble Watch: First Four In, Last Four Out, more on Feb. 6
Time flies in the college basketball season and we've officially reached February, which is a good time to check in on the status of the March Madness bubble. Teams near the cut line on Selection Sunday need all the help they can get in order to go dancing, so each upset they can pull off is a big help while a bad loss can be devastating.
Each week until Selection Sunday, FanSided's Bubble Watch will look at the team's closest to the cutline and see who's trending up and who has some work to do to hear their name called on St. Patrick's Day. Without any further ado, let's dive in with a look at the last four teams to avoid the First Four.
Note: Records/NET Ranking as of 2/6. Teams currently leading their respective conferences are not eligible.
March Madness Bubble Watch: Last Four Byes
Team | Conference | Record | NET | Last Game | Next Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nebraska | Big Ten | 16-7 (6-6) | 52 | L 87-84 At No. 14 Illinois | At Northwestern 2/7 |
Ole Miss | SEC | 18-4 (5-4) | 61 | L 91-77 Vs. No. 16 Auburn | At No. 15 South Carolina 2/6 |
Texas A&M | SEC | 13-8 (4-4) | 50 | W 67-66 Vs. Florida | At Missouri 2/7 |
Seton Hall | Big East | 14-8 (7-4) | 65 | W 72-39 Vs. DePaul | Vs. Georgetown 2/7 |
Nebraska has played well in the Big Ten and has a shot at making their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Fred Hoiberg but really could have used that win at Illinois as a resume booster. Wins over Purdue and Wisconsin at home are solid building blocks for a resume but the Cornhuskers' best road win to this point is at Kansas State, which is fighting for its own bubble life.
Chris Beard has stacked up a lot of wins at Ole Miss but the Rebels don't have a ton of quality behind them, especially with Memphis' recent slide. Four of Ole Miss' next six games are against ranked opponents so we will learn quickly if the Rebels will sink or swim.
The Aggies have an inferior won-loss record than the Rebels but a better NET on the strength of four Quad 1 victories. Beating top competition matters to the selection committee so as long as Texas A&M can avoid another Quad 3 loss to their ledger they should manage to do alright.
A blowout win over DePaul was exactly what Seton Hall needed to stop the bleeding of an ill-timed three-game losing streak. The fact that the Pirates beat UCONN by 15 is the main selling point of their resume right now but losses to Rutgers and Providence without Bryce Hopkins are problematic.