BUBBLE WATCH: Illinois, Texas A&M in serious bubble trouble
Some teams - UCLA and Indiana, for example - took care of business.
Others - that's you, Illinois and Texas A&M- did not.
With conference tournaments in full swing Thursday, a few teams moved off the NCAA Tournament bubble in good and bad ways.
Illinois fell 73-55 to Michigan and Texas A&M lost 66-59 to Auburn - a pair of bad losses that could cost them spots when the selection committee releases the bracket come Sunday.
Meanwhile, UCLA beat Southern California 96-70 and Indiana topped Northwestern 71-56 to keep their runs in their conference tournaments going and make stronger cases to be in the 68-team field.
A look at how the bubble teams did Thursday:
ILLINOIS: Now at 19-14 overall, 9-10 against the Big Ten, and with an RPI of 61, it's hard to see the Illini in. Their spot as a "Last Four In" team was predicated on them taking care of at least a bit of business against the lower half of the Big Ten. But the loss to the Wolverines (16-15) gives them five defeats in their last seven games. They don't have a real quality win since early February. Further, they lost their only matchup against Indiana, another bubble team that came into the postseason with an identical record and similar RPI.
INDIANA: Speaking of the Hoosiers (20-13), their win puts them in a quarterfinal game against Maryland, which is simply another chance to improve the resume. Things are looking up.
TEXAS A&M: The Aggies (20-11) were also on a lot of those "Last Four In" lists. A loss to Auburn (14-19) is certainly not the way to stay there. They had an RPI of 57 heading into the SEC tournament - that's marginal - and will close their season losing three in a row and four of five. This was a team that gave Kentucky as big a scare as anyone before falling in overtime in January. A "quality loss," maybe. But where are the "quality wins?" It'll be a long weekend in College Station.
OLD DOMINION: As discussed in this space Wednesday, the Monarchs are intriguing - 24 wins, No. 38 RPI, quality wins over LSU and VCU - and could've ended the drama simply by winning the Conference USA tournament. But they didn't. Instead, they lost in the quarterfinals to Middle Tennessee. It's ODU's sixth loss in a not-very-good conference. The Monarchs are 17-0 at home and 7-7 away. Hard to close the book on them yet, but their second loss this season to Middle Tennessee (18-15) certainly made it more difficult for the selection committee to say 'yes.'
OH, MISS: If the Rebels miss out - a much stronger possibility now than it was a month ago - their 60-58 loss to South Carolina will cost them sleep for weeks. Ole Miss went ahead by a point on a four-point play with 3.3 seconds remaining, only to foul Tyrone Johnson while he was trying a desperation 3 with 0.7 seconds left. Johnson made the free throws and the Rebels (20-12) have now lost four of five.
ALSO MOVING BACK: Miami (21-12) had Notre Dame on the ropes and a chance to wrap things up, but the Hurricanes let that get away in a 70-63 loss. Now, they have to see if that quality win at Duke in January and an RPI of 62 will be enough. Texas (20-13, 42 RPI) gave up the last 12 points in a 69-67 loss to Iowa State, a not-so-bad loss that would've been so much better had the Longhorns rocked this game to sleep.
WHO GOT HELP: BYU, with that single quality win against Gonzaga last month, moved up despite not playing. So did Tulsa and Temple, each of which open play in the American Athletic Conference tournament Friday.
SECOND LOOK: The following teams should be in: Iowa, Oklahoma State and North Carolina State. Still, it would've been nice if they had played like NCAA Tournament teams Thursday. The Hawkeyes lost to Penn State (112 in the RPI), the Cowboys fell by 15 to Oklahoma for their sixth loss in seven games, and North Carolina State, fresh off a win over Pitt that supposedly sealed its spot, fell 77-53 to Duke. So, maybe the spots are still secure. The seedings, however, could take a hit.