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Welcome back all, what a crazy couple of days it has been for teams living on the "bubble". There were a few teams that seemed to have done just enough to solidify their place in the field (Texas, UCLA), while there were some that have created quite the predicament for the Committee (Oklahoma, Middle Tennessee St.). Most of the so-called "bubble" teams have wrapped up their respective seasons after yesterday and with it, the final opportunities to impress the Committee. Heading into today, there were just 2 "bubble" teams still left playing in their respective conference tournaments - Alabama and USC.

The Crimson Tide got a huge victory over Texas A&M on a buzzer-beater from Freshmen sensation Collin Sexton yesterday that vaulted them into the field. While that victory got Bama into the projected field, a loss to Auburn today would do just as much to drop them back out of the field. The historical mark for at-large bids is 4 games above .500 - a loss to Auburn today and the Crimson Tide would drop to a final mark of 18-15 on the season and most likely find themselves on the outside looking in. However, a win over a top-3-seed Auburn on a neutral floor and that would most likely end any debate for Bama. And the Crimson Tide just got that much-needed victory that will guarantee them no worse then a 4-games over .500 finish. The victory today puts Bama securely in the field, most likely in the 10-11 seed range.

USC is continuing to cruise along in the Pac 12 Tournament, but they aren't really getting opportunities to boost their resume. Rival UCLA seems to have solidified their place in the field, and a matchup with Arizona today will not make or break-it for the Bruins. USC will need to win today against Oregon or risk falling out of the field as well. While USC has great advanced metrics and a solid RPI (33), their overall resume is still lacking. Right now, their most impressive victories are a sweep of Oregon (who is still projected outside of the field) and non-conference wins against Middle Tennessee St. (which is all-of-a-sudden shaping up to be a huge victory in helping to sort out the bubble) and New Mexico St. Still, with 0 wins against the RPI top 25, USC is sitting very much on the "bubble", but on the right side of it - for now.

As far as the top seed lines, nothing of any note changed after the past couple of days. Between today and tomorrow much of the field will be playing to help shift their seed lines slightly. A big showdown between Duke and North Carolina today in the ACC tournament will have a big impact on the top couple of seed lines. So let's get to it, here is latest edition of the BRACKET WATCH:

(Teams conference record listed, followed by overall record)
(* - denotes current conference leader and conference's automatic bid)
(teams listed from highest to lowest; i.e. Virginia is the top 1-seed; Duke is the lowest 1-seed)

THE FIELD

1 - Seeds:

VIRGINIA (17-1, 29-2) *
XAVIER (15-3, 28-4) *
VILLANOVA (14-4, 28-4)
DUKE (13-5, 26-6)

2 - Seeds:

KANSAS (13-5, 25-7) *
PURDUE (15-3, 28-6)
AUBURN (13-5, 26-6) *
TENNESSEE (13-5, 24-7)

3 - Seeds:

CINCINNATI (16-2, 28-4) *
NORTH CAROLINA (11-7, 22-9)
MICHIGAN (13-5, 28-7) *
MICHIGAN ST. (16-2, 29-4)

4 - Seeds:

CLEMSON (11-7, 23-8)
ARIZONA (14-4, 25-7) *
GONZAGA (17-1, 30-4) *
WICHITA ST. (14-4, 24-6)

5 - Seeds:

TEXAS TECH (11-7, 24-8)
WEST VIRGINIA (11-7, 23-9)
OHIO ST. (15-3, 24-8)
KENTUCKY (10-8, 21-10)

6 - Seeds:

NEVADA (15-3, 27-6) *
HOUSTON (14-4, 24-6)
FLORIDA (11-7, 20-11)
TCU (9-9, 21-11)

7 - Seeds:

RHODE ISLAND (15-3, 24-6) *
ARKANSAS (10-8, 22-10)
BUTLER (9-9, 20-12)
MIAMI (11-7, 22-9)

8 - Seeds:

SETON HALL (10-8, 21-11)
CREIGHTON (10-8, 21-11)
ST. BONAVENTURE (14-4, 24-6)
TEXAS A&M (9-9, 20-12)

9 - Seeds:

KANSAS ST. (10-8, 22-10)
PROVIDENCE (10-8, 20-12)
VIRGINIA TECH (10-8, 21-11)
NC ST. (11-7, 21-11)

10 - Seeds:

UCLA (11-7, 21-10)
MISSOURI (10-8, 20-12)
FLORIDA ST. (9-9, 20-11)
ALABAMA (8-10, 19-14)

11 - Seeds:

SAINT MARY'S (16-2, 28-5)
TEXAS (8-10, 19-14)
ARIZONA ST. (8-10, 20-11)
MARQUETTE (9-9, 19-12) / OKLAHOMA (8-10, 18-13)

12 - Seeds:

LOYOLA-CHICAGO (15-3, 28-5) *
NEW MEXICO ST. (12-2, 26-5) *
LOUISIANA (16-2, 27-5) *
USC (12-6, 22-10) / MIDDLE TENNESSEE ST. (16-2, 24-7)

13 - Seeds:

BUFFALO (15-3, 24-8) *
VERMONT (15-1, 27-6) *
MURRAY ST. (16-2, 26-5) *
S. DAKOTA ST. (13-1, 28-6) *

14 - Seeds:

MONTANA (16-2, 24-7) *
UNC-GREENSBORO (15-3, 27-7) *
WRIGHT ST. (14-4, 25-9) *
BUCKNELL (16-2, 25-9) *

15 - Seeds:

CHARLESTON (14-4, 26-7) *
PENN (12-2, 22-8) *
LIPSCOMB (10-4, 23-9) *
IONA (11-7, 20-13) *

16 - Seeds:

RADFORD (12-6, 22-12) *
NICHOLLS (16-2, 22-9) *
UC-DAVIS (12-2, 24-9) * / ARK. PINE-BLUFF (12-6, 13-20) *
LIU-BROOKLYN (10-8, 18-16) * / HAMPTON (12-4, 18-14) *

THE BUBBLE

LAST 8 IN

ALABAMA (8-10, 19-14) RPI 46; 5-4, 7-8; SOS 5
SAINT MARY'S (16-2, 28-5) RPI 40; 0-0, 2-1; SOS 168
TEXAS (8-10, 19-14) RPI 50; 2-6, 6-8; SOS 16
ARIZONA ST. (8-10, 20-11) RPI 65; 2-2, 5-3; SOS 71

MARQUETTE (9-9, 19-13) RPI 57; 0-6, 5-9; SOS 24
OKLAHOMA (8-10, 18-13) RPI 49; 5-2, 6-7; SOS 25
USC (12-6, 22-10) RPI 33; 0-2, 4-3; SOS 50
MIDDLE TENNESSEE (16-2, 24-7) RPI 32; 0-2, 0-3; SOS 87

FIRST 8 OUT:

BAYLOR (8-10, 18-14) RPI 64; 2-6, 6-10; SOS 18
OKLAHOMA ST. (8-10, 19-14) RPI 87; 3-5, 8-9; SOS 48
SYRACUSE (8-10, 20-13) RPI 43; 2-7, 4-8; SOS 15
LOUISVILLE (9-9, 20-13) RPI 38; 0-8, 2-11; SOS 13

OREGON (10-8, 21-11) RPI 63; 1-1, 2-7; SOS 80
NOTRE DAME (8-10, 20-14) RPI 68; 1-7, 3-8; SOS 42
PENN ST. (9-9, 21-13) RPI 79; 3-5, 3-5; SOS 74
NEBRASKA (13-5, 22-10) RPI 59; 1-5, 1-6; SOS 94

Middle Tennessee St. threw a wrench into the bubble with their shocking loss yesterday to Southern Miss in the Conference USA Quarterfinals. It is going to be very interesting to see what the committee does with a team that played a challenging non-conference schedule (losses to USC, Auburn, and Miami), two victories over the SEC (Vandy, Ole Miss) but no victories against the RPI top 50. The Blue Raiders Strength of Schedule currently sits at 87, on the lower-end for most "bubble" teams, but a solid RPI of 32, and an 11-game win streak during the season might be enough to just squeak them in. They currently sit right on the cut-line and it is going to be interesting to see what the Committee does with them.

Oklahoma's loss to Oklahoma State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament was a fitting end to what has been a monumental collapse for the Sooners. The once thought-of 1 or 2-seed, OU might be lucky just to get in. And in the event that their impressive overall resume is enough to carry them in (despite not winning a game outside of their home arena since December 30th), it will most likely be as one of the very last teams in with a play-in game waiting. At the moment though, Oklahoma benefits from the numerous amount of "bubble" teams that weren't able to take advantage of opportunities the past few days. Syracuse and Louisville both came up short in games that could have helped vault them into the field (vs. North Carolina and Virginia, respectively). Both were blown out however, and now it will be a long couple of days until the field is announced for both the Orange and the Cardinals.

Baylor and Oklahoma State look to have come up just short as well. For the Cowboys, it will most likely be there low RPI # (87) that will keep them out. Despite the victory over the Sooners in the First Round of the Big 12 Tournament, that RPI and less than stellar non-conference schedule will most likely be the difference. Baylor had a hot February that saw them climb into most projected fields for the past two weeks. However, a weak finish to the season, losing four of five, and getting 0 victories in the Big 12 Tournament will most likely keep the Bears just on the outside looking in. They did have a sweep over Oklahoma State, which helps keep them in front of the Cowboys, and currently as the "first team out". The margin separating all of these teams is extremely thin, and we probably haven't seen the end to the shifting at the back end of the bracket. Be sure to check back for updates! Thanks for reading and leave your comments below!