Quick Takes: Bubble Report for Feb. 28

With March on the horizon, Wednesday provides us another busy night along the NCAA tournament projection bubble.  Let’s dive in:

Providence (at Marquette) – The Friars have a challenging close to the season, which is both a blessing and a curse.  A loss at Marquette would be understandable, but their at-large margin is already small.  Home dates with Villanova and Connecticut are still on the docket (plus G’Town); a 3-1 close would be ideal, 2-2  feels mandatory.

Seton Hall (at Creighton) – SHU faces back-to-back road tilts against Creighton and Connecticut. A split would be ideal.  A pair of losses (while acceptable – if competitive) puts SHU squarely along the cutline.

Virginia (at Boston College) – Having lost 3 of 4, the Cavaliers’ NCAA status is again unclear.  With a trip to Duke ahead this weekend, dropping one at BC could prove costly.  

Texas AM (vs. South Carolina) – The Aggies have lost four straight and are desperate to reverse course.  Despite some high-quality wins, at just 15-12 overall, home wins feel like a must at this point.

Ole Miss (vs. Alabama) – Among the Next 4 OUT this morning, the Rebels need an about-face, too; they have lost 5 of 6 with their sole win during that stretch coming at home against Missouri.  Beating the Crimson Tide would be a nice way to start rebuilding their NET and NCAA profile.

St. John’s at Butler – This feels like a potential elimination game.  Butler has lost 5 of 6 and stands just 15-12 on the season; the Bulldogs could really use a three-game sweep to end the season.  SJU is 16-12, riding a two-game winning streak.  The Johnnies final two games are against DePaul and Georgetown.  If needed, a season-sweep of BU could also come in handy.

Colorado (vs. California) – No upside here for the Buffaloes, but certainly a downside.

James Madison (at Georgia State) – Ditto. JMU can ill afford a loss before its conference tournament title game.

Oregon (vs. Oregon State) – Nothing easy about a rivalry game, then again, the Ducks need to keep moving forward with closing games against Arizona, Colorado and Utah.