The bubble of teams near the cut line of the NCAA Tournament is hyperactive Saturday, but that should be no surprise considering there are more than 140 games on the schedule. There are a few double-bubble games that head this list as teams try to add to their tournament resumes and maybe shift places on the seed list.
And, as always, there is a share of danger games, where teams can pick up a bad loss and hurt their tournament chances.
The biggest rivalry in college basketball (you know that's right) highlights the double-bubble action which includes three games with both teams on the bubble. Here's a breakdown of those games followed by the other teams in action Saturday (all times ET).
Bubble teams in action Saturday
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| at Indiana, 2 p.m. (ESPN) -- Home Purdue is all but unstoppable. The Boilermakers are coming off a 36-point thrashing of Iowa in Mackey Arena on Wednesday. Road Purdue is a whole other story, although that is improving slowly, starting with a double OT loss at Michigan and recently, using an 11-0 run to get a must-win at Northwestern. A win at IU would go a long way to getting that road monkey off their backs. | |
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| vs. Purdue, 2 p.m. (ESPN) -- The Hoosiers have lost three in a row after getting off to a 15-4 start. The one that hurt the most was the first of those three games, which came at home to Maryland. IU is like many teams in that they do their best work at home. The Hoosiers have yet to beat a tournament contender away from home, but that is a problem for another day. Saturday is about ending a six-game losing streak to their in-state rival. | |
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| at Texas, 4 p.m. (ESPN2) -- Here's another battle of two teams right on the cut line of the bracket. The Red Raiders picked up a big home win over Oklahoma, another team these two are competing with for a spot in the field. Texas Tech is only 6-8 vs teams in the top three quadrants, which is not good, but a win over the Longhorns should still fit in Quadrant 1. | |
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| vs. Texas Tech, 4 p.m. (ESPN2) -- Texas has been inconsistent, which is not atypical of bubble teams. The Longhorns won at Purdue, which is no easy feat, but lost at home to LSU and Oklahoma. That Purdue win is still their best of the season and in the end, that likely won't be good enough. Beating Texas Tech at home would still be a nice feather in their cap. | |
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| at Xavier, 8 p.m. (FS1) -- Both of these teams are trending up. Providence started the season poorly, picking up four bad losses in November. Conference play has been more kind, where the Friars have picked up road wins against Butler and Marquette and most recently, a home win over Creighton. | |
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| vs. Providence, 8 p.m. (FS1) -- Xavier picked up huge road win as well last weekend. The Musketeers won at Seton Hall, which is easily their best win of the season. This game is more important to Xavier because it is at home. I say this often, but it is vital for bubble teams to defend their home floor against their peers. | |
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| vs. Michigan State, 12 p.m. (Fox) -- The Wolverines have to be feeling desperate. They have won only three of their last nine Big Ten games having played all but 20 minutes without injured guard Isaiah Livers. Michigan has to put together a tournament resume worthy of selection whether he plays or not. Michigan State is stumbling too, so this game should be feisty. | |
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| vs. DePaul, 12 p.m. (FSN) -- Georgetown beat Syracuse earlier this season, but the Hoyas did so at home. They are on the fringes of the bubble because of an 8-10 record vs Q1-3, but nine of those losses are in Q1. | |
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| at George Washington, 12 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) -- The Rams have moved into position as the second best team in the A-10 by virtue of a season sweep of VCU. A loss at GW would relinquish that hard earned position. | |
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| at Temple, 12 p.m. (ESPNU) -- SMU has a gaudy record, but not a lot behind it save a come from behind win at Memphis. That is the Mustangs' only win on either Quadrant 1 or 2. A road win over the Owls might very well qualify as the second, but SMU will have more plenty more work to do even with a win. | |
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| vs. Texas A&M, 1 p.m. (SEC Network) -- The Gamecocks have big wins over Kentucky and at Arkansas, but those home losses to Boston U and Stetson loom large. Nothing in this game but another potential bad loss. | |
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| vs. Kentucky, 1 p.m. (CBS) -- Like many teams on the bubble, Tennessee is lacking that big win to get the attention of the committee. The Vols have played a tough schedule, but have not been up to the challenge. Tennessee is just 4-8 against teams in Q1-2 and 8-9 when you add in Q3. That is not likely to be good enough to get in. | |
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| vs. West Virginia, 2 p.m. (ESPNU) -- Oklahoma acquitted itself reasonably well in a loss at Texas Tech, but a loss is a loss. The Sooners have a couple of wins against other bubblers, but could really use a statement win. A victory over the Mountaineers, even at home, would be that. | |
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| at Dayton, 2 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) -- Saint Louis is coming off a disappointing and damaging loss at home to Duquesne. The Dukes are not a bad team, but it was not a game the Billikens could afford to lose. So far, the quality wins are lacking for SLU. The Billikens have a road win over Richmond, but that's about it. A win at Dayton would get everyone's attention. | |
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| vs. Georgia Tech, 2 p.m. -- The Panthers' loss at Notre Dame almost pushed them off the bubble entirely. A home loss to the Yellow Jackets would not be easy to recover from. | |
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| at Mississippi, 2 p.m. (ESPN2) -- The Gators struggled with Georgia before putting the Bulldogs away earlier this week. They begin a stretch of three games against non-contenders in the SEC, but two of those are on the road. | |
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| at Fordham, 2 p.m. (ESPN+) -- The Spiders have not yet done enough to atone for bad losses at home to Saint Louis and at Radford. Wins over Wisconsin and Rhode Island could be tiebreakers, but they are not in position for those to be that decisive yet. | |
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| at Missouri, 3:30 p.m. (SEC Network) -- The Razorbacks will be without guard Isaiah Joe indefinitely after knee surgery and they missed him in an overtime loss to Auburn. Missouri is struggling, so this is not really a game Arkansas can afford to lose, even on the road | |
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| vs. South Florida, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) -- Memphis has won three in a row since the Tigers' very bad week when they lost to Tulsa and SMU. They have a pretty good record but are lacking a win over a sure tournament team. South Florida is another one of those non-tournament teams. | |
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| at Louisville, 4 p.m. (ESPN) -- If Virginia is going to make a push for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, this is a good place to start. A win at Louisville would not only be the Cavaliers biggest of the season so far, it would be at the end of the season as well. It is the only road game left for Virginia against one of the ACC's top three. | |
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| vs. Drake, 4 p.m. -- The Panthers are now in first place by themselves in the Missouri Valley Conference after winning at Valparaiso and Loyola's loss on Wednesday. They need to show dominance in this league to have much of a chance at an at-large bid. | |
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| at Penn State, 4 p.m. (Big Ten Network) -- The Gophers are hanging in there at 12-10 overall, which includes a sweep of Ohio State and a home win over the Nittany Lions. Trying to get the sweep of Penn State figures to be difficult, but a second quality road win in the Big Ten would be huge for the Gophers going forward. | |
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| at Colorado, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Network) -- Stanford has now lost four out of five. That one win -- Oregon. The Cardinal are not in serious danger of falling out of the bracket yet but the trend is not good. | |
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| vs. Wake Forest, 8 p.m. (ACC Network) -- Is Syracuse the fourth best team in the ACC? Maybe, for what that's worth. The Orange are certainly the most unpredictable. They have road-and-road splits with Notre Dame, Virginia and Virginia Tech and a total of four road wins, but five home losses. Maybe we should be betting Wake, even if a loss to the Demon Deacons would be the worst of the season so far for Syracuse. | |
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| vs. Vanderbilt, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) -- Mississippi State will be trying to avoid the same fate as LSU, which was Vanderbilt's first SEC victim since 2018. The Bulldogs already have two bad losses and not enough good wins to make up for them. | |
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| vs. San Francisco, 9 p.m. -- BYU let one get away at USF a couple of weeks ago that may end up being the game that keeps the Cougars out of the tournament. The Dons used a 21-0 run to erase a 14-point deficit and held on for the win. BYU cannot afford to get swept. | |
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| vs. Boise State, 10 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) -- One of the more bitter defeats for the Aggies this season came in overtime at Boise State. With seven losses already, Utah State cannot afford to repeat that loss on their home floor. | |
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| vs. Gonzaga, 10 p.m. (ESPN) -- Opportunity is knocking for Saint Mary's. The Gaels and Zags renew the best rivalry in the West Coast Conference with a lot on the line for Saint Mary's. The Gaels have a couple of nice wins, but nothing like what beating the Bulldogs would mean to their tournament profile. | |
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| vs. USC, 10 p.m. (FS1) -- The Sun Devils knocked off rival Arizona and won at Washington for their first two Q1 wins of the season. This is a good opportunity for a third. ASU does not have any bad losses, but they do have a poor record against better teams. There is still some work to do. | |
