Life on the March Madness bubble is a challenge for a college basketball fan. In every game, your team feels more relief than victory. Every loss is a disaster.
Although this college basketball season is different in many ways, the experience has not changed much for the teams involved this March.
And it also includes moments like what happened in Idaho on Tuesday, when the Boise State Broncos lost a home game to Fresno State, which is under 500 points and ranked 186th in net.
MORE: NCAA bracket forecast: SN’s latest field 68
We saw something similar last year, despite not having an NCAA tournament last year, when Xavier stood firmly on the bubble and saw his hopes collapse with the first-round Big East tournament defeat against Final-Depul.
Fresno’s loss presented Boise State with the distinction of standing as the only team in the NET Top 60 for a Quad 4 loss. Richmond, in the first week, lost to St. Joseph, which gave the Spiders such a second defeat and assured that they are not only outside the top 60, but also far from the bubble discussion.
The defeat of Boise was good news, however, for the teams that are engaged in this fight. Many of them play tonight:
NCAA Bubble Game to watch on Wednesday
Stanford In Southern California, 10:30 pm ET, FS1. There was no team that appreciated the Boise result more than the Cardinals (14–11, No. 61 net), which would lead to some fake brackets as a result. But can they live there? A road win over USC would be Stanford’s fifth Quad 1 win, but a defeat would put them in the same fake category as Xavier (who lost Tuesday at Georgetown), Duke (who fell to Georgia Tech in overtime) and Utah State (which has fallen) two remaining regular-season games).
On clemson Syracuse, 5 pm, ACC Network. The Orange (14-8, No. 55) are the most among bubble teams, with an 0-6 record against Quad 1 opponents, but their win over North Carolina kept them alive at least. Although it would not count as a Quad 1 for SU, either, Clemson is firmly established as an NCAA tournament team, and it would give the Orange a third win against a possible field.
Wichita State At Tulane, 6 pm, ESPN +. The Shockers have played only 15 games, which challenges them to evaluate. He has two wins against Quad 1 and Quad 2, the award upset a road to Houston of the American Athletic Conference title. The game will do little for the Shockers (11-4, No. 66), but it is good for them to take more action to prepare for the AAC tournament.
Uconn On Seton Hall, 6:30, FS1. With the way the bubble is going, with so many teams being harmed or even brutal losses, it can be a stretch to say Yukon (12-6, No. 34). But they are ranked as the No. 10 seed in Ryan Fagan’s Sporting News bracket, which means they are close enough that defeating a fellow bubble team would be a wise idea. Seton Hall (13-10, No. 52) is desperate for a quality win. The Pirates are 3-6 against Quad 1.
Minnesota At Penn State, 7 pm, Btn. Following their recent loss at Nebraska, the Gophers (13-12, No. 69) are in a win-win situation. Injuries and road conflicts have caused damage that once stood as a firm in a larger case. If the Gophers lose this, they will likely need to make a Big Ten title game to give it a chance.
In new mexico Colorado state, 8 pm, Mountain West Network. Ramus (15-4, No. 39) has won enough often against just right opponents to be 11 seed on the Sporting News bracket. Perhaps more important, they have survived damaging losses; They are 9–0 against Quad 4. The Lobos would be the 10th Quad 4 win, and only Drake among the SN in many areas. This is not good, but it is better than the loss of Q4.
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