March Madness 2024 Bubble Watch: First Four Out, Last Four In, more on March 12
March Madness Bubble Watch: First Four Out
Team | Virginia | Villanova | Pittsburgh | Texas A&M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Conference | ACC | Big East | ACC | SEC |
Record | 22-9 (13-7) | 17-14 (10-10) | 21-10 (12-8) | 18-13 (9-9) |
NET | 51 | 32 | 44 | 46 |
Quad 1 Record | 2-6 | 4-10 | 2-6 | 5-6 |
Quad 2 Record | 6-3 | 5-1 | 5-2 | 6-3 |
Quad 3/4 Record | 14-0 | 8-3 | 14-2 | 7-4 |
Strength Of Schedule | 77 | 14 | 84 | 21 |
Non-Conference Strength Of Schedule | 234 | 47 | 340 | 64 |
Last Game | W 72-57 Vs. Georgia Tech | L 69-67 Vs. No. 10 Creighton | W 81-73 Vs. NC State | W 86-60 At Ole Miss |
Next Game | Vs. Clemson/Boston College/Miami 3/14 | Vs. DePaul 3/13 | Vs. Wake Forest/Notre Dame/Georgia Tech 3/14 | Vs. Ole Miss 3/14 |
A win over Georgia Tech stopped the bleeding for Virginia, who sit just outside the field ahead of the ACC Tournament. Getting a win over Clemson might be enough to get the Cavaliers in the field, depending on how the rest of the bubble falls, but a loss there would almost certainly send them to the NIT.
Villanova got swept to end the season, losing by a bucket at Creighton to face the historic conundrum of being a bubble team with 15 losses if they don't win the Big East Tournament. Beating DePaul in the opening game won't do much but finding a way to beat Marquette, who may not have Tyler Kolek as he works his way back from an oblique injury, could lead to a fascinating debate on Selection Sunday.
Pitt's best win is at Duke when the Blue Devils were down two starters, which may hurt them when added in with their horrendous non-conference strength of schedule. Wake Forest likely is coming in the quarters but the Panthers may need to beat them and North Carolina to put themselves in a good spot on the bubble.
Texas A&M got back on track with three straight wins to end the season and has excellent schedule metrics to go along with five Quad 1 wins. Picking up two wins in the SEC Tournament would probably push them into the field, but that is imperative because a 14-loss at-large team may be a tough sell with four of those defeats coming outside the top two quadrants.