Ohio State and Nebraska both needed a win Sunday and the Cornhuskers were the ones to get it in their “double bubble” game. Nebraska picked up its fourth straight victory in a 79-71 win vs. the Buckeyes. The Cornhuskers are now 5-6 against Quad 1 teams, highlighted by victories over Illinois and at Creighton and Oregon.
The Buckeyes fell to 8-10 vs. the top three quadrants, which is not usually good enough to get selected. Ohio State has an odd resume in that it has no Quad 3 opponents, so it is also 8-10 vs. the top two quadrants.
Xavier lost at Villanova 80-68 to fall further out of contention for a NCAA Tournament bid. The Musketeers have seven regular season games left, six of which are against teams not in contention for the NCAA Tournament. They probably have to win all of those.
Two bubble teams have a chance to get big road wins on Monday.
Check out Palm’s latest bracket, full field of 68 and Bubble Watch at the Bracketology hub
All times ET
Bubble teams in action Monday
North Carolina
at Clemson, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Here is a great opportunity for North Carolina to get a second Quad 1 win. In fact, it’s the only opportunity between now and the season finale against Duke. UNC needs every win it can get, not just the big ones. The Tigers are coming off a huge win over the Blue Devils on Saturday, so the Tar Heels may catch Clemson a little flat.
Baylor
at Houston, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
This is the first of a home-and-home between these teams before the end of the season. The Bears need to improve their Quad 1 record and record away from home. They are 1-6 on the road against Quad 1 teams, but the win is over Arizona State, which is not likely to be a tournament team. Baylor is not in must-win territory yet, but it would be its best win of the season if it can get it..
Teams near the cut line
NCAA Tournament locks
Locks based on resume: 3 | Automatic bids secured: 0
| Conference | Locks | Team |
|---|---|---|
|
SEC |
3 |
Note – all references to NCAA Tournament selection records and trends based on NET rankings excludes the 2021 tournament. Due to shortened schedules and a relatively small number of non-conference games, those rankings are not reliable enough to be considered.
